\nMarisa Straub Maslek \u201913 and James Maslek \u201915<\/strong><\/h3>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Marisa and Jamie Maslek met when she was a junior and he was a freshman. They quickly fell in love and knew that someday they would get engaged. Little did Straub Maslek know that that<\/em> day would come at her fifth-year class reunion.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was Meliora Weekend 2018 and to kick it off, we went to Mt. Hope Diner with some friends we hadn\u2019t seen in a while,\u201d says Marisa. \u201cJamie was acting really weird\u2014he wouldn\u2019t even sit next to me.\u201d Later, she learned that he had the ring in his pocket and was afraid she\u2019d spot it if he got too close.<\/p>\n After brunch, the couple and their friends headed over to the Meliora letters that adorn Eastman Quad every Meliora Weekend. That\u2019s where Jamie planned to pop the question.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to drop down on one knee without her seeing me do it,\u201d he says, adding that he always knew he wanted to propose on campus. \u201cSo, I told her I wanted to take a fun picture of us doing a piggyback ride.\u201d Marisa was game. She turned around so her soon-to-be fianc\u00e9 could hop onto her back. One of her friends then told her to turn around again.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space height=”30px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_gallery interval=”5″ images=”26682,26672,26692″ img_size=”full” onclick=”” show_image_title=”show_image_title” title_alignment=”left”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]\u201cThat\u2019s when I saw him kneeling,\u201d she says, adding that she was completely surprised, especially since Jamie isn\u2019t a public person and there were many people were nearby. After the proposal\u2014and a happy head nod and a big \u201cyes\u201d from her\u2014the Quad erupted in applause.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took a ton of pictures, called everyone, and FaceTimed our families,\u201d says Jamie. \u201cPretty quickly, the University heard about the proposal and posted some pictures on social media. Within about two hours, it seems like everyone around us knew we were engaged. People were direct messaging us and saying, \u2018congratulations\u2019 nearly everywhere we went.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple went ahead and made their wedding plans but then the pandemic hit, prompting them to change course a bit. Although they did have small ceremony in Rochester in last June, which was followed by a short honeymoon weekend in Canandaigua, they are planning a bigger bash later this year.<\/p>\n Today, the couple lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Marisa is a school psychologist (she came to the area in 2014 to pursue a master\u2019s degree at Gallaudet University). Jamie joined her after getting his Rochester diploma and is now wrapping up his PhD in physics at the University of Maryland.<\/p>\n The couple chose Rochester for similar reasons\u2014for them, saying \u201cI do\u201d to Rochester was a bit like finding that perfect wedding dress. \u201cI visited and kind of fell in love with the place and its flexible Rochester Curriculum,\u201d says Marisa, a double major in psychology and American Sign Language.<\/p>\n It was the same for Jamie, a double major in physics, and optics. \u201cWhen I learned I never had to take a history course again and that I could pursue what I really loved, I knew it was the place for me,\u201d he adds, with a chuckle.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#f4f4f4″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#f4f4f4″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]For their first year on campus, Chris Miller and Katie Weiner lived in Tiernan Hall on the residential quad. Although they met on their first day at college, they didn\u2019t start dating until later, after they both interned in New York City the summer before their senior year.<\/p>\n Five years later, Chris and Katie made plans to go to their class reunion during Meliora Weekend. Chris thought that would be the perfect opportunity to propose. All their friends would be there, including those from her basketball team and his Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, and Katie probably wouldn\u2019t expect it.<\/p>\n For Meliora Weekend, the plan\u2014or so Katie thought\u2014was to spend the weekend with their former roommates, whom they hadn\u2019t seen in a long time. They even planned to stay in separate hotels so they could spend more time with them.<\/p>\n On the Saturday morning of that Meliora Weekend, Chris was anxious to get Katie and their gang to the scheduled class photo shoot, which was to be held on the steps leading up to Eastman Quad. He brought just a few friends into the loop regarding his proposal plans. They helped him corral Katie, who was a bit bewildered at how important it seemed to be for Chris to get to the shoot.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space height=”30px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_gallery interval=”5″ images=”26732,26722,26712″ img_size=”full” onclick=”” show_image_title=”show_image_title” title_alignment=”left”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#f4f4f4″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]\u201cI wanted to do it then because the set up would be ideal with all of our friends there,\u201d says Chris. After the official photo was taken, Chris worked up his courage. He turned to Katie for the big moment, but she was engaged in a conversation with a friend she hadn\u2019t seen in a long time. Getting her to focus on him was more difficult than he anticipated.<\/p>\n \u201cI was actually a little annoyed with him and wondered what could possibly be so important at that moment,\u201d she says. \u201cBut then, I turned around and that was when he started whispering in my ear. I thought \u2018oh my, I think this is it,’ and that\u2019s when he fell to one knee.”<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t think either of us said any actual real words at that point,\u201d says Chris. \u201cInstead, I held out the ring, she nodded, and then everyone cheered.\u201d The class photographer rushed over and snapped lots of pictures and so did their friends.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore we knew it\u2014and before our families knew it was a done deal\u2014we were on the University\u2019s Instagram page,\u201d he adds. \u201cThen, throughout the weekend, everyone seemed to know we had just gotten engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n Later that morning, while sitting outside Lattimore Hall and eating mac and cheese from a nearby food truck, Chris actually did utter the words, \u201cWill you marry me?\u201d And, of course, Katie said yes. That night, they went to the class dinner, which turned out being like a big engagement party.<\/p>\n The couple plans to get married later this fall in Lake George, NY, a few hours from where they live in Boston. Chris, a computer science major, works at a tech startup in the area, and Katie, a biochemistry major, is pursuing a PhD in molecular biology at Harvard University.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Clare Boehly\u00a0 and Vinny DeRienzo met as underclassmen, but their love story began a few years later, after Clare returned from a semester in London. She was a senior majoring in psychology, and he had just earned his degree in psychology and was doing a Take 5 program in contemporary religious diversity.<\/p>\n When Clare returned to campus, she decided to rejoin the club tennis team. One of Vinny\u2019s Sigma Nu fraternity friends was also on the team, so they all began to hang out and enjoyed going to trivia nights at the Old Toad, a traditional English pub near campus. Those game nights soon evolved into date nights\u2014and the rest is love history.<\/p>\n Vinny knew he wanted to propose on campus, and he thought he came up with the perfect plan, which went down, the couple says now, as a comedy of errors. \u201cI had this elaborate ruse in mind,\u201d he says. \u201cI told her that there was an alumni happy hour at Rush Rhees Library and that a bunch of our friends would be there.\u201d<\/p>\n Clare was game, but then . . . she had some kind of major allergy attack and didn\u2019t want to go. Vinny tried to mask his panic. He thought quickly and told her that there\u2019d be an open bar.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space height=”30px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_gallery interval=”5″ images=”26762,26772,26782″ img_size=”full” onclick=”” show_image_title=”show_image_title” title_alignment=”left”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Clare rallied. They grabbed their coats and headed out the door. But, being February in Rochester, Vinny\u2019s car was encased in ice. He had to use three different types of ice scrapers to free it. As if that wasn\u2019t enough, his car wouldn\u2019t start. Ultimately, they called for an Uber.<\/p>\n Once at the library, Vinny told Clare he wanted to stop by the Wells Brown Room before going to the happy hour\u2014for old times\u2019 sake. (She didn\u2019t know that he reserved the room for the proposal. And thank goodness she didn\u2019t see the reserve sign on the door, which read, \u201cHold from 5 \u2013 6 pm for alumni proposal.\u201d As they entered, Vinny managed to hide that unforeseen note with his head.)<\/p>\n \u201cWe walked into Wells Brown and I noticed someone was there, studying,\u201d says Clare. \u201cThat\u2019s when Vinny started getting all lovey dovey. I\u2019m pretty sure I asked him something like \u2018what are you doing?\u2019\u201d (That person was actually a photographer Vinny had hired to capture the proposal.)<\/p>\n Once the moment came, Vinny forgot the whole speech he had planned. He did smile and hand her the ring though, which she happily put on.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter that, we headed to the Old Toad where Vinny arranged to have many of our friends and family waiting for us,\u201d adds Clare. \u201cHe pulled it all off and I was completely surprised by everything.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rochester-based couple plans to marry this summer at a winery near Lake Ontario. They\u2019ll take a mini-moon to Boston and then a longer honeymoon next year, to a warm place. In the meantime, they\u2019ll keep working\u2014she as a teacher in the Rochester City School District and he as a physician assistant at Strong Hospital\u2014and planning for their future together.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator type=”small” position=”center” color=”#15234a” border_style=”solid” width=”100″ thickness=”2″][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1611941070828{padding-right: 40px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;}”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”grid” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#e9e5d7″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”20px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1612465917286{padding-right: 40px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;}”] What\u2019s the secret ingredient that makes a happy couple or family?<\/strong><\/a> How do we relate? Psychologist\u2019s research probes matters of the heart.<\/a> What\u2019s your love story?<\/a> \u2014 Kristine Thompson, January 2021<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" According to University records, about 10 percent of Rochester\u2019s alumni are married to other alumni, not to mention the faculty and staff who\u2019ve met their sweethearts on campus. With Valentine\u2019s Day around the corner, we wanted to add a little love to the air and share these on-campus engagement stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":26822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,142],"tags":[272,752,232,722],"class_list":["post-26542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles","category-stories","tag-alumni","tag-boston","tag-recent-alumni","tag-rochester"],"yoast_head":"\nA class photo-turned-proposal
\nChristopher Miller \u201914 and Katie Weiner \u201914<\/h3>\nA romantic comedy of errors
\nClare Boehly \u201914 and Vincent DeRienzo \u201913<\/h3>\nDid you meet on campus or get engaged here? If so, we\u2019d love to hear about it. Share your story on social media and use #wemetatUR<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n
![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/adv\/alumni-news-media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/movies1-no-background.png\")
<\/p>\nCheck out these timeless love-centered stories, all based in Rochester research<\/h3>\n
\nAnalysis shows those who are psychologically flexible have better romantic and family relationships.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>While a bad marriage can cause heartache, a good one can help keep your heart ticking. Literally.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Talking with your partner about movies may actually increase your odds of finding your own happy ending.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”15px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”grid” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#e6f3fa” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”10px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1611692931893{padding-top: 1px !important;padding-right: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;background-color: #e6f3fa !important;}”]The Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ recently launched Together for Rochester, a one-year fundraising and engagement campaign designed to make life better for the University community and the world\u2014just like a little love can do. <\/em>Learn more about the campaign here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1611689176107{border-top-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;border-top-color: #999999 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}”]<\/p>\n