The workplace is a surprisingly common place to meet a potential love interest. For Michele Chasky, this held true when she met her future husband Matt Chasky — but it didn’t happen right away.

Michele and Matt both worked at the Chik-fil-A in the HUB during their time at Penn State, but their shifts hardly ever overlapped because of their specific roles. One of Michele’s typical duties was to leave instructions for the person who came in to prep the stand over the weekend. That person was usually Matt.

“When I found out it was Matt, I would leave him jokes and an overabundance of work to do (knowing he wouldn’t be able to get it all done) and he would leave notes for me on Mondays telling me what he did on his shift,” Michele said. “He also jokingly started calling me ‘brat.'”

Despite their frequent work shenanigans, however, the two students didn’t hang out while they were at Penn State. Since they rarely worked at the same times, their interactions were only limited to between shifts and occasional run-ins around campus.

By the time graduation rolled around in 2000, Matt and Michele had still only gotten to know each other through brief work banter. However, they decided to exchange e-mails before they left Happy Valley — from that moment on, their relationship permanently changed.

Post-graduation, Matt and Michele actually stayed in contact pretty frequently. Over the years, they exchanged frequent e-mails and calls and the pair soon become close friends. But when Michele headed down to Houston to visit Matt in 2003, she suddenly knew something had changed.

“As soon as I got off the plane, I knew something was different,” Michele said. “We had not seen each other in two years, but I felt something more than our friendship. The feeling was mutual, although at the time I had no idea. We had a great visit, but never said anything to one another.”

Shortly after Michele returned home, the two knew they couldn’t disguise their growing feelings anymore. Though they had both vowed to never try a long distance relationship again, they knew it would be worth it and decided to become an official couple. Their first real date was in Florida, where Michele lived at the time.

“It was so easy, having been friends for so long, knowing everything about one another,” Michele said. “All the awkwardness of first dates were out of the way.”

For the couple, a strong friendship and undeniable connection made the trials of long distance much smoother. They made the effort to call whenever possible, and Matt even surprised Michele for her birthday in 2003. On March 12, 2004, Matt decided to take the next step in the relationship when he proposed after Michele returned from work.

“He surprised me then as well, telling me he was on a business trip,” Michele said. “And instead, when I got home from work, there he was in my living room, surrounded by rose petals on his knee. I worked in the NHL at the time and the next night at a sold out game, my co-workers announced my engagement to 21,000 fans.”

The couple married on October 15, 2005, and now in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania with their three children. And of course, they’ll never forget the restaurant that technically brought them together in the first place.

“On our wedding day, Matt had his Chick-Fil-A name tag inside of his tuxedo jacket.”

To submit  your own Penn State love story, click here.