{"id":5895,"date":"2021-02-09T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=5895"},"modified":"2021-02-09T09:03:47","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T14:03:47","slug":"match-made-in-hamilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2021\/02\/09\/match-made-in-hamilton\/","title":{"rendered":"Match Made in Hamilton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Illustrations by D\u2019Ara Nazaryan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alumni often speak of the deep connections they\u2019ve made with other members of the Colgate community during classes as students, at reunions, and through chance meetings. Some even form the deepest connection: Love. Colgate Magazine<\/em> spoke with seven married alumni couples via Zoom. We found that, while there are many types of Colgate couples, they share one commonality: Their stories all travel back to Hamilton, even if they didn\u2019t begin on the Hill.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Must Love Dogs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Emmalee \u201cEmmie\u201d Dolfi \u201913 and Jessica \u201cJesse\u201d McCarrick \u201910<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Ten-year-old Stella and 8-year-old Stewart lounge on the floor of their Santa Fe, N.M., home, tired after a long day of walks around the neighborhood and watching their parents. Their moms, Emmie and Jesse, recently told them that they\u2019re moving across the country to St. Petersburg, Fla., where they\u2019ll still get to enjoy the sunshine, but this time, on the beach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emmi
Emmalee \u201cEmmie\u201d Dolfi \u201913 and Jessica \u201cJesse\u201d McCarrick \u201910<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Stella and Stewart aren\u2019t your typical children \u2014 they\u2019re dogs Emmie and Jesse rescued when the women first lived together in Washington, D.C., while Emmie pursued a master\u2019s in geography at George Washington University. Stella, a laid-back lab mix, and Stewart, \u201ca big old, anxious pittie,\u201d aren\u2019t the only dogs Emmie and Jesse have cared for. Altogether, they\u2019ve fostered 23 dogs (and one kitten, whom they learned Emmie was allergic to). The couple\u2019s shared love of animals is one of the many attributes that makes their 10-year relationship work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe typically foster dogs that don\u2019t show well at the shelter, that are super anxious,\u201d Emmie says. \u201cOr dogs that are hyperactive at the shelter and are bouncing off the walls, but in a home, are a lot better,\u201d Jesse adds. (The two often finish each other\u2019s sentences.) \u201cIt allows us to show potential adopters that they\u2019re not crazy, lunatic dogs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, they\u2019ve had many adventures looking after their foster pups, including taking on full litters of puppies, and breaking into their own house after a pit bull figured out how to lock the door. Eventually, Jesse took her dedication to dogs a step further and became a vet tech. She works at the same shelter through which they foster dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though their love of canines drives their relationship, Emmie and Jesse started out the way many Colgate couples do: on the Hill. They became fast friends during Emmie\u2019s official visit to Colgate as a softball recruit in 2009, but they didn\u2019t realize there was a spark until after Jesse graduated the following spring. Emmie and a few softball teammates drove down to visit Jesse at her family home in Virginia, and when it was time to leave, Emmie didn\u2019t want to go. \u201cWe spent that whole summer going back and forth from Virginia to New York,\u201d Emmie says. They married in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple moved to Santa Fe for Emmie\u2019s position as senior manager of urban analytics at The Trust for Public Land. An avid fan of all sports (in her wedding vows, Jesse pledged to never change the channel, \u201ceven if Emmie was watching curling or archery\u201d), Emmie looks forward to starting her new role as a baseball analyst with the Tampa Bay Rays. Jesse hopes to further her career in veterinary medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they prepare to make the cross-country move during COVID-19, the two are relying on the foundations of their relationship: good communication, laughing together, and balancing each other out. \u201cThat was what our family said about us at our wedding,\u201d Jesse says. \u201cYou bring me back down to reality, but also I bring you up a little,\u201d adds Emmie. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to meet in the middle,\u201d Jesse finishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their favorite restaurant is La Choza in Santa Fe. \u201cEvery time we come in, they have margaritas ready for us,\u201d Jesse says.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Woman in the Red Dress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Christine Chao \u201986 and James \u201cJos\u201d Shaver \u201986<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Jos was tired and drenched in sweat from running laps. He\u2019d broken a cardinal rule: Never be late to tennis practice. \u201c[But] it was worth it,\u201d he says, because he\u2019d finally met Christine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Christine
Christine Chao \u201986 and James \u201cJos\u201d Shaver \u201986 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The two resided in different dorms their first year on campus, but many of the men in Kendrick-Eaton-Dodge, where Christine lived, pledged Phi Tau, so she always attended their parties. Jos had also joined the fraternity, and he remembers seeing Christine for the first time at a party, thinking of her as \u201cthe pretty girl wearing a red dress.\u201d Mutual friend Andy Blackwood \u201986 (who sadly passed away) introduced Jos and Christine a few days later. The two had an instant connection, and their conversation lasted so long that Jos ended up being late to that tennis practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tennis would show up again in their early relationship: For their first date, they played and then grabbed a bite at the Pizza Hut on Utica Street. On the last day of junior year, they shared a drink at the Hourglass and agreed to write letters to each other over the summer. Those long-distance notes cemented their relationship, and they became an official couple on the first day of their senior year (after another drink at the Hourglass). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After graduation, Christine headed off to Columbia Law School, and Jos accepted a job in nearby New Jersey. Tired of the cold winters, he planned to travel south to Duke for his MBA. But his love for Christine changed his plans: \u201cI made the decision to marry Christine 18 months before I proposed,\u201d he says. Instead of going to Duke, Jos earned his MBA from Columbia. After he graduated, they married. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty-five years later, they\u2019ve had adventures abroad, living in Hong Kong (where their sons, Ben and Tyler, were born) and London before settling in Greenwich, Conn. \u201cColgate will always hold a special place in our hearts for bringing us together,\u201d Christine says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jos majored in mathematical economics<\/a> at Colgate and is founder and managing partner of Electron Capital Partners. Christine, who studied English<\/a> and was a member of Konosioni and Gamma Phi Beta, is now general counsel for Foremost Group. She\u2019s also a Colgate trustee emerita and cochair of the Campaign Leadership Committee. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Seven Year Itch<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lauren Galliker \u201990 and Michael Spivey \u201922<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Lauren\u2019s Zoom background can only be described as tropical, with beachy, powder blue walls and the bright sun shining through floor-to-ceiling windows. Michael\u2019s, on the other hand, resembles a dorm room, with a beige wall that is bare except for one decorative piece: A maroon Colgate banner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lauren
Lauren Galliker \u201990 and Michael Spivey \u201922 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re not virtual backgrounds \u2014 Lauren and Michael live separately; she in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, and he in Hamilton. Michael travels to St. John during school holidays, but when class is in session, he\u2019s an international relations<\/a> student at Colgate, attending through the Service to School VetLink Program. VetLink partners with colleges and universities to expand access and opportunity for student veterans. When Michael, a retired special operations soldier, learned (through Lauren) that Colgate joined VetLink in 2019, he jumped at the chance to apply to the University. He\u2019d been familiar with Colgate for more than a decade due to his relationship with Lauren, and he was excited at the opportunity to accomplish his dream of finishing college at an institution that he already knew and respected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren is Colgate, through and through. For two decades, she\u2019s served as a senior regional advancement director, and she has generations of friends in the Colgate community. After three years of dating, Lauren invited Michael to attend her 20th Reunion and meet all of her classmates and colleagues. \u201cIn order for me to date her, I had to get along with her friends,\u201d Michael says. One year later, their wedding was officiated by the Hon. Timothy Stanceu \u201973. All of this to say, they had a tough time keeping Michael\u2019s Colgate application a secret until he was accepted; they didn\u2019t tell anyone until April 28, 2020, when he joined the Class of 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The beginning of their relationship isn\u2019t the typical Colgate origin story: They didn\u2019t meet as teenagers, and they\u2019re not tied at the hip. In fact, their 13-year relationship has been mostly spent on opposite sides of the globe. They met while Michael was still on active duty. Lauren lived in New York City, and they made their relationship work through weekends spent commuting, spotty Skype calls overseas, and communication. \u201cThat\u2019s the key,\u201d Michael says. \u201cWhen Lauren and I met, we were both older, so [we knew that] you have to be able to communicate better and more effectively.\u201d He adds, \u201cBy the time we got married, we had already spent enough time dating and enough time being apart that we had a pretty good rhythm about how it works.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, when Michael retired from the Army, \u201clife finally gave us the opportunity to live together,\u201d Lauren says. \u201cThe restaurant across the bay from us has a weekly trivia tournament … we named ourselves The Seven Year Itch because it was seven years into our marriage when we were finally able to live together.\u201d Although they\u2019re apart while Michael finishes his degree, in 2022, they\u2019ll be together once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On their first date, Michael and Lauren played golf, and she chipped in from 120 yards out, \u201ca heck of a shot for any golfer,\u201d Michael says. They went wild, high-fiving and fist-bumping on the course. Two strangers walked over and asked how long they\u2019d been married. \u201cI guess there was something in the chemistry that it was meant to be,\u201d Lauren says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s been fantastic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren received the Ann Yao \u201980 Memorial Young Alumni Award in 1995 and a Maroon Citation in 2015. The Colgate banner in Michael\u2019s room was given to Lauren by her mom and dad, 35 years ago.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opposites Attract<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Keith \u201901 and Mylisa Sergeant \u201900 Brooks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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It was the summer of 1997. \u201cCan\u2019t Nobody Hold Me Down\u201d by Puff Daddy breezed through radio speakers, and Hamiltonians enjoyed rare hot days. Mylisa was on campus researching water pollution and its impact on underground aquifers. She was single at the time and \u201cthere were no guys in my class I wanted to date,\u201d she says. She didn\u2019t know what her \u201ctype\u201d was and didn\u2019t mind continuing her search to find the right guy. Eventually, she met Keith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mylisa remembers seeing Keith arriving on campus that summer. Wearing a bright yellow shirt and hailing from Florida, Keith was quiet and thoughtful. \u201cI don\u2019t call it love at first sight because I don\u2019t know if I was convinced,\u201d Mylisa says. \u201cBut I got a vibe that I would probably date him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Keith,
Keith \u201901 and Mylisa Sergeant \u201900 Brooks<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Keith, on campus early for the OUS program, remembers it a bit differently: \u201cI met Mylisa, and she was different than what I was used to. She was more of an extrovert, and I was more of an introvert.\u201d Though they were on different wavelengths romantically, the two became friends. Keith had a girlfriend back in Florida, but Mylisa still took him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. They also often ran errands together around Hamilton. Eventually, Keith and his girlfriend broke up, and friends urged him and Mylisa to try starting a relationship. As Keith got to know Mylisa better, he finally asked her on a date. One icy night, they borrowed a friend\u2019s stick shift and went to McDonald\u2019s in town, munched on salty fries, then watched Independence Day<\/em> at the Hamilton Movie Theater. Afterward, they sat on Seven Oaks Golf Course and looked up at the stars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple married after graduation and now have two daughters and a son. Twenty-four years later, Keith and Mylisa are still opposites in many ways, but they say that\u2019s what makes their marriage so successful. Mylisa can make or fix anything, from a Halloween costume to a household project. Keith cooks and ensures that the family prioritizes time together, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they make it work. \u201cThe bottom line is, we\u2019ve learned that we\u2019re a team and we play different roles on the team,\u201d Keith says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the summer of 2022, they plan to spend their 20th wedding anniversary on the Hill. This time, they\u2019re on the same page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith is a cornerstone of Keith and Mylisa\u2019s relationship: \u201cWe are both strong Christians, and that was an essential attribute for [each of] us in a potential life partner,\u201d Mylisa says. They were both in the Sojourners Gospel Choir at Colgate, and Keith attended University Church while Mylisa worshiped at Hamilton Bible Fellowship.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Window of Opportunity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chris \u201981 and Becky Bair \u201981 Hurley<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Becky can recall with certainty the first time she saw Chris. It was August 1977, and classes for the semester hadn\u2019t yet started. As she and roommate Becky Anway \u201981 Valenti leaned out the window of their second-floor dorm room on the back of Kendrick Hall (now called Curtis Hall), she saw two men \u2014 \u201cquite a pair in their own right\u201d \u2014 in straw cowboy hats ascending the stairs. Chris and his friend Dave Rentschler \u201981 were walking over from Dana Arts Center, and they\u2019d just bought the hats from John\u2019s Shoe Shop in Hamilton. \u201cThis was a bold fashion move in 1977,\u201d says Becky Bair \u201981 Hurley. Ironically, Chris says he remembers Becky wearing overalls the first time he saw her. \u201cWe were both city kids, so I am not sure how we independently settled on the country-western look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chris
Chris \u201981 and Becky Bair \u201981 Hurley<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Like many Colgate romances, their early dates weren\u2019t fancy: they were dinners together in the Hall of Presidents and raising glasses at parties off campus. Chris played football, so Becky cheered him on at every game, \u201cand I tried to understand what an offensive guard did,\u201d she jokes. They pored over political science texts in Case Library, discussing Professor Robert Kraynak\u2019s lectures. Their dating anniversary is Oct. 8, 1977, the day they sat together on a bench at Taylor Lake, watching the ducks glide on the water. When they visit campus, they always find their way back to that bench. \u201cMy favorite memories of Colgate all feature Becky,\u201d Chris says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019ve been together for 43 years and have three children: Daniel \u201912, Matthew \u201912, and Katie. When their sons graduated, they walked from the ceremony at Taylor Lake to the back of Curtis Hall and took a photo. Becky\u2019s dorm window was in view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becky studied international relations<\/a> and political science<\/a> at Colgate. Today, she\u2019s an attorney and land use adviser and serves on the University\u2019s Board of Trustees. Chris, also an attorney, double majored in political science and economics. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Growing, Together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

David Vargas \u201981 and Yvette Maitland-Vargas \u201981<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Campus is different during the summer. It\u2019s almost placid, with most students away and fewer activities planned. David and Yvette credit that unusual environment for beginning their 41-year romance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year was 1979, and at the time, every Colgate student was required to complete one summer semester on campus, to free up space in the dorms the following fall. Outside of class, Yvette passed her time by working in Dana Arts Center. \u201cIt was a perfect place for me to work because I could study,\u201d she remembers. \u201cIt was quiet, and most times, no one came by.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is, except for David. He\u2019d visit her often, to chat or to sit with her and reminisce about their families back home. The couple says the less-populated, easy-going pace of Colgate in the summer allowed them time to get to know each other. \u201cWith less people in the summer and a much calmer environment, we got to see each other more and appreciate each other more,\u201d David says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
David Vargas \u201981 and Yvette Maitland-Vargas \u201981<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Listening to their descriptions of one another, they seem like yin and yang. When David first met Yvette, he says, she was lively, and he was immediately taken with her. \u201cShe was athletic,\u201d he remembers. \u201cAnd she was a lot of fun.\u201d David was athletic, too, as a member of the wrestling team. But that isn\u2019t what Yvette recalls most about David: \u201cWhen I first met him, he was pretty quiet.\u201d She was attracted to his calm demeanor, and he was different. \u201cHe seemed responsible and very affectionate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yvette never imagined meeting someone like that, and it was even more surprising to her that she\u2019d love someone so much that she\u2019d want to marry them. She had her life planned out: She wanted to be a single mother and adopt several children, all of different nationalities. She wanted to nurture them and teach them to love one another. But, once she met David, her idea of happiness shifted. \u201cI couldn\u2019t even have dreamed it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David taught her to express love outwardly and comfortably, Yvette says. In her native Jamaica, as a custom, people don\u2019t express affection openly and that can seem closed off emotionally. David was the opposite, going out of his way to make sure she knew he loved her. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to say \u2018I love you\u2019. I still don\u2019t have to wonder about that.\u201d They still walk hand-in-hand when out and about in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They now have two sons, Craig and Gregory, so Yvette\u2019s vision of bringing up babies wasn\u2019t too far off. The couple says the process of raising children has allowed their relationship to grow. \u201cWe jumped into childbearing early,\u201d David says. \u201cAnd that ate into a big chunk of our life together. The majority of the time, [we\u2019re focused on our] commitment to our sons [and our] family.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although both of their children are now grown, the couple is enjoying their next adventure: their baby granddaughter, Cassie. Because she was born during the pandemic, they don\u2019t get to see her in person too often. \u201cWe get to see her on Zoom calls, plus lots of pictures, and we just love it,\u201d  Yvette says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yvette was a geology<\/a> major at Colgate, and she traveled to the United Kingdom with a Jan Plan study group. She previously worked in banking and business, and now she\u2019s an internet marketing and ecommerce entrepreneur. David studied economics<\/a> and went to Granada, Spain, on a study group. He\u2019s had a career in accounting and finance, and he currently works for Greenfield Global as an ERP implementation analyst. They were both OUS students.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Art Is Long and Life Is Short<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ray \u201969 and Leslie Heaslip \u201974 Wengenroth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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At the center of Leslie and Ray\u2019s romance is art … but it began with renting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Leslie acknowledges \u201cit\u2019s a little creepy\u201d that she married her college landlord. \u201cIt was kind of a dump,\u201d she says of the apartment on Lebanon Street. \u201cI can\u2019t say that my first impression of Ray was terribly positive.\u201d Ray remembers Leslie sneaking a litter of puppies into the unit \u2014 his impression of her wasn\u2019t exactly rosy either. But they eventually saw the humor in their situation and, when they bumped into each other at the Colgate Inn every now and then, they clinked their glasses of 15-cent Utica Club drafts and became friends. Over time, they fell in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"modern,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ray wasn\u2019t only a landlord after he graduated from Colgate with an art and art history degree<\/a> \u2014 he was a teaching assistant in the University\u2019s art department. Leslie also studied art and art history (in addition to English<\/a>), and they bonded over a shared love of the craft. Ray was a sculptor at Colgate, and he eventually moved on to paintings that he still makes today, in addition to printmaking. Leslie is a painter, too, and although she took a hiatus for many years to focus on her marketing career, she\u2019s picked up a brush again, creating smaller, detailed paintings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art has popped up in myriad ways throughout their relationship. Once, they were at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, a side trip after dropping off their teenaged son, Eric \u201907, at the airport as he headed for golf camp. Many of their friends who\u2019d been married for decades were divorcing, empty nesters who discovered that with children out of the house, they had little in common anymore. But when Leslie and Ray arrived at the museum, they were joyful and excited about a solo outing together. \u201cHe turned to me and said, \u2018This must be what it\u2019s like to have an empty nest!\u2019\u201d she remembers. In addition to art, they enjoy a shared love of outdoor activities, such as hiking and kayaking in Massachusetts and spending time together at their cabin in Downeast Maine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ray
Ray \u201969 and Leslie Heaslip \u201974 Wengenroth<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Leslie and Ray married 46 years ago in an August outdoor ceremony, after she graduated from Colgate (a member of the first official coed class). They say that doing things together, spending one-on-one time enjoying each other\u2019s company, is their formula for staying a strong couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere can be a lot of intense romance and love at the beginning, then you get caught up with work, and if you have kids, that takes over your life,\u201d Leslie says. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful, but it is all-absorbing. It\u2019s really important in a long marriage to retain the connection you have to each other, and a lot of that is love, but it\u2019s also just \u2018like,\u2019 and liking to be together and liking to do things together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renting was a component in their early relationship, but, now, it\u2019s back in Leslie and Ray\u2019s lives. \u201cWhen you\u2019re an artist, you need a plan B,\u201d Ray says. His was carpentry, which evolved into building lofts for photographers and artists in New York City. When their kids came along, building lofts evolved into building houses in the suburbs of New Jersey. And then, when the couple moved to Boston in 1997, he started flipping homes and selling them to families. Ray leases the homes he doesn\u2019t sell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, he\u2019s a landlord. But now, Leslie isn\u2019t his tenant \u2014 she\u2019s his partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leslie comes from a long Colgate lineage, but no one was more of a Colgate fanatic than her dad, Cliff Heaslip \u201950. Cliff (who passed in 2018) was president of the Alumni Corporation and worked in the development office for a time. \u201cHe was a nut about Colgate,\u201d Leslie says. She fondly remembers visiting her family with Ray during college one time, and her dad asked who to make her rent check out to. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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13 Traditions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Colgate is known for its storied traditions, and marriages are no exception. We tapped wedding planner Shannon Whitney Anson and Assistant to the Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees Maureen McKinnon to learn how some Colgate couples have celebrated their unions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:<\/span> A friendly Friday morning golf tournament at Seven Oaks to tee off the wedding weekend<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:<\/span> Cheers! Welcome drinks at the Colgate Inn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3:<\/span> Hitching a ride on the Colgate Cruiser around Hamilton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:<\/span> Sentimental \u201cfirst looks\u201d on Willow Path<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5:<\/span> All-alumni wedding parties <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6:<\/span> Celebrating on the Merrill House lawn (complete with \u201cColgate Cornhole\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7:<\/span> The couple\u2019s head table, labeled No. 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8:<\/span> Gobbling up Toll House cookie pie for dessert <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9:<\/span> Alumni gathering for a photo with a Colgate banner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10:<\/span> Singing along to \u201cNew York, New York\u201d at the end of the reception<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:<\/span> Late-night snacks from Slices <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12:<\/span> Post-wedding sendoff in the Colgate Inn\u2019s Green Room<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

13:<\/span> Wedding bells: 13 times<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 1,683 known married Colgate couples.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alumni often speak of the deep connections they\u2019ve made with other members of the Colgate community during classes as students, at reunions, and through chance meetings. Some even form the deepest connection: Love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1222,"featured_media":5998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[354,177,654,76,655],"coauthors":[168],"class_list":["post-5895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-features","tag-alumni","tag-campus","tag-love","tag-love-stories","tag-traditions"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-1x5","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/02\/COLGATE-JAN21-05_feature.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5895"}],"version-history":[{"count":89,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6251,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5895\/revisions\/6251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5895"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}