Some love stories start with a swipe. But at Carlow, connection is part of everyday life; in classrooms, on teams, at campus events, and in all the small moments in between. Sometimes, those moments grow into something bigger.

For this Valentine’s season, we’re celebrating Love at Carlow by spotlighting Celtic connections that began during their time at the University and continued well beyond graduation. We sat down with two couples, both relatively recent grads, to hear how they met, what made their relationship click, and what they remember most about building a life together during their Carlow years.

Q: How did you meet?

Chris: We met preseason cross country freshman year. So 2015, August.

Leanne: We didn’t start dating until 2018, though!

Q: What do you remember about the early days before you were officially dating?

Chris: We were friends first… for a long time. But those last hours before Leanne went home for the summer, we just hung out and talked. It felt like a really big moment where it clicked: oh, we’re actually serious.

Leanne: I don’t even know when our first date was.

Q: When did you realize you liked each other as more than friends?

Leanne: We were eating and there was someone sitting alone. Chris invited them to sit with us. I remember thinking, “oh he’s such a sweet guy.” That’s when I knew.

Chris: Honestly, it was the last few hours before she went home for the summer. We just sat and talked, no distractions, no group around us, and it felt different. That was the moment it really settled for me that this wasn’t just friendship anymore.

Q: What’s a very “Carlow” memory you share?

Chris: Easter weekend. We were basically the only ones on campus. It was literally just us.

Leanne: We got Easter breakfast at Dunkin!

Chris: Also, breakfast in general. Almost daily, we’d eat at AJP together.

Q: What was it like being a couple in such a close-knit campus community?

Chris: At Carlow, you’re around the same people every day, so you get really close with the people you come into contact with.

Leanne: And honestly, when you walk outside, you know who everybody is.

Q: Fast forward. What came next after graduation?

Chris: I went to the University of Michigan for my PhD.

Leanne: And I work in accounting. I’m at PPG.

Q: When did you get engaged?

Chris: I asked Leanne to marry me right outside Mount Rushmore at Custer State Park. On top of a mountain.

Leanne: It was perfect.

Q: How would you describe Carlow’s role in your story?

Chris: I don’t really think without Carlow, the two of us would have ever met. Carlow helped facilitate that connection with student activities, volunteering, being around the same people. We had common interests, and we overlapped in a lot of those areas. The people you meet here matter. It’s one of those places where relationships, romantic and friendships, really stick.

Q: How did you meet?

Katie: We met freshman year through the cross-country program. We didn’t know each other beforehand, but we had a lot of mutual friends through the team.

Tim: We also had some overlapping classes that year, but cross country was really how we got to know each other.

Q: What were those early days like before you officially started dating?

Katie: We were really good friends all through freshman year. We had lunch together a lot in Frank’s up in the Commons, and we were always sort of around the same people.Then over the summer before sophomore year, we hung out a few times. I remember telling him, “This isn’t a date. We’re just friends hanging out.” And then we weren’t just friends hanging out anymore. We both realized we really liked each other, and we decided to try dating.

Tim: We kind of thought it would be casual at first… and here we are now, married.

Q: Do you think being at a smaller, close-knit campus like Carlow helped bring you together?

Katie: Absolutely. You see it in the classrooms and in the relationships you build. The community is small, so you have so much overlap, similar friends, similar classes, similar experiences. You run into each other a lot, and it makes it easier to become close.

Tim: It was easy to connect. We were always bumping into each other on campus, in classes, even out in Oakland generally.

Q: Are there any places on campus or around Oakland that feel special to your story?

Katie: We loved Frank’s in the Commons. We were always there. We also used to run into each other at events on the Green. There was always something going on, and that’s where so many memories happened.

Tim: And we were always in St. Agnes, between practices, the gym, and different activities.

Katie: The “O” in Oakland was also special to us. We grabbed lunch there toward the end of freshman year. It doesn’t exist anymore. We even have a picture of it hanging in our hallway.

Q: When did you realize your friendship had turned into something more?

Katie: I think it was just spending so much time together, hanging out over the summer. We didn’t plan it. It just sort of happened naturally.

Tim: We were already so close as friends, and then one day it just clicked.

Q: Looking back, what do you think made Carlow such a big part of your love story?

Kate: I really think we met each other by doing things outside our comfort zones. I wasn’t a great runner, but I joined cross country anyway, and that’s how I met Tim. If I hadn’t taken that step, I don’t know if we ever would have started dating.

Tim: Same for me. Running in college wasn’t something I expected to do, but it opened up so many friendships, including meeting Katie.

Katie: We also had so many Carlow friends in our wedding. Two of our Carlow friends were in our wedding party, and we were in the wedding party for two other Carlow couples. I think that’s just something that happens at Carlow.

Q: Where has life taken you since graduation?

Tim: We still live in Pittsburgh. We just bought a house and got married this past September. I’m working in HR remotely for a company in Philadelphia.

Katie: I work on the North Shore for a nonprofit called Riverlife, in fundraising.