Alumni Sweethearts 2024
Love is in the air at GW!
We asked alumni to share stories of how they fell in love at GW. From campus crushes to forever love, here are some of their stories told in their own words.
Nada Kamona, BS ‘18, MS ‘19, and
Andrew Chen, PhD ‘21
“Andrew and I were both students in the Biomedical Engineering department. However, we first met while we were summer interns at the FDA. It just so happened that our labs shared a mutual space at GW, so once that summer was over, it was quite easy to bump into each other and connect on our mutual interests in medical imaging, science fiction, and diners. I completed my masters and accepted a research position in Boston in 2019. After Andrew completed his Ph.D. in the summer of 2021, surviving COVID and long-distance, we got engaged. We could think of no better Celebrant (the legal term in Virginia) to marry us than Dr. Murray Loew, a mutual mentor and GW faculty! Our beautiful wedding just across the Potomac in Fairfax County was in November of 2022 and we were fortunate to be surrounded by our dear GW faculty mentors and GW friends.” - Nada
Stephanie Heredia, MA ‘19, and
Alexis Valdovinos, MA ‘16
“Our story took off during an art exhibition at the embassy of Uruguay, but technically we first met 10 minutes before that event at the Starbucks corner in front of the Elliott school. I was parallel parking when I suddenly saw a man from my rearview mirror waving at me. He was smiling and waving his arms like an airport traffic controller except with his Yankees cap and backpack. I ignored his waiving and proudly parallel parked with few attempts. Nevertheless, he waited for me at the corner, praising my parking and sharing harrowing tales of DC parking. I proudly shared that I was well aware since I grew up in Northern Virginia, and I brushed him off. As I walked away to join a group of friends, I realized that he was also joining the same group of friends. Embarrassed of my pride getting the better of me, I approached him at the embassy event. Alexis says our love story began when I played piano for him at the embassy event after we chatted about art, our travels and cultural identities…and drank a lot of Uruguayan red wine. But for me it began on that corner of the Elliott school. That was day 1 of not only experiencing Alexis’ brilliance and affability, but also his unconditional love. Fast forward to October 14, 2023, he asked me to marry him a couple of blocks from where we met and I said forever yes!” - Stephanie
Karen Menke Paciorek, MA ‘76, and
Michael J. Paciorek, MS ‘77
“We initially had seen each other on campus a few times since we both worked at the Smith Center. I worked as a lifeguard and Michael as a GA supervisor. The summer of '76 we had each signed up for Professor Jean Snodgrass' class, "The Clumsy Child". The first night of class she decided to break the class into groups. As Professor Snodgrass stood in the front of the room she pointed to groups of 3 students and said, "You 3, you 3, you 3”, then she paused, took a breath, pointed at the two of us, and said, "and you 2!" with a smile on her face. At that point, we were definitely a GW-endorsed match and fireworks continued that bicentennial summer!” - Karen
Russell Cash, Engineering ‘90, and
Yuvetta Cash, BA ‘99
“We don’t know when we first met. We both remember the first meeting we remember. We began spending time together in our 10-person mixed gender group. We were just friends, or so we thought. Then other students, our friends, and even the Thurston cafeteria staff started asking, ‘where is your boyfriend/girlfriend?’ When either of us responded that we were not dating, the response was, ‘yes you are!’ We are both glad they were right.
What started at Thurston Hall is still going strong in our 30th year of marriage. We are best friends, parents, business partners, and co-pastors. Love at first sight…that we remember.” - Russell
Stephanie Marotta, BS ‘88, and
Douglas Kane, BS ‘88
“Doug and I met in Thurston Hall, 3rd Floor in 1983. Doug left his coffee mug in my room hoping my roommate, Rachel, would return it. He had a little thing for her. That mug sat in my room for a few days, and I decided it was time for it to go back to Doug - that’s when we met. It turned out we were both Comp Sci majors and really enjoyed each other’s company. We travelled in the same Freshman pack with a group of others from the 3rd floor. In front of Thurston, there were always people handing out booklets of BOGO coupons for restaurants in DC. Our pack went out to lots of places, trying all kinds of cool ethnic foods that were totally new to us. One of our favorites was The Red Sea in Adams Morgan. Over time, our Freshman pack dwindled, and Doug and I found ourselves going out by ourselves. Our relationship has been about food and friendship from the beginning. We’ve been married for 35 years, and food still plays a big part in our lives. Thanks, GWU for bringing us together. We are sweethearts still and best friends forever.” - Stephanie
Arturo Pagan, MA ‘97, and
Dr. Katia Passerini, MBA ‘96, PhD ‘01
“We both decided to take Dr. Mark Starik's class, Environmental Policy Studies in the Caribbean. One of my focus areas was environmental policy and this was a fun way to see practical applications in beautiful settings, and Katia wanted a vacation where she could learn more. We did not meet in person before we departed, as she was undertaking exams for her Laurea in Rome. I, of course, overslept and missed the class flight to our first stop, Mexico City, and we met on a dance floor that evening after I arrived. 25 years and three sons later, we are still going strong!” - Arturo
Dr. Carly Filgueira, BA ‘03, and
Sebastian Filgueira, BA ‘02, MA ‘03
“We were first introduced by a mutual friend who lived in our dorm. We both moved from the Hall on Virginia Avenue to New Hall our sophomore year and rented a moving truck with a group of friends. Sebastian's desk set was accidentally left in my room, and he kept coming by to claim it and eventually he won my heart.” - Carly
Kathy Megyeri, MA ‘69, MA ‘82, and
Leslie l. Megyeri, BA ‘63, JD ‘68, MBA ‘80
“It was the summer of ‘63 in the basement of Lisner Auditorium where Professor Hennigan held his speech class, and I really wanted to become a speech therapist, so I was paired with a dashing Hungarian refugee who wore an all-white suit to class and was very serious about losing his accent. After a couple of sessions, we knew this partnership was becoming more than just a mentor-mentee relationship because we spent more time in the student union talking and getting to know one another than we did practicing inflection patterns, grammar, and pronunciation rules. Long story short—we failed in reaching our personal goals because I never became a speech therapist and Les never got rid of his accent. But I think we accomplished so much more. Both of us have become enormous cheerleaders for GW as between us, we have five degrees from the school and after 53 years of marriage, we made a financial commitment to leave our estate to the law school. Best of all, during the summer we met, we attended The March on Washington which solidified our commitment to live and work in Washington for our entire lives, which we have done. GW’s impact on both our careers and personal lives could never have been replicated elsewhere because of the school’s academic excellence, its location, the professors who took such an active role in leading us to career opportunities as well as serving as role models for the type of people we wanted to emulate, and best of all, providing us with a venue to meet in an academic setting which has permeated all that we love about GW. For that, we are so grateful and happy to retain our love affair with the school and with each other.” - Kathy
The love goes on... 🥰
Read more GW love stories we heard from alumni this year!
Jennifer Katz, BA ‘88, and
Rich Katz, BA ‘88
How they met: We met freshman year in our Mass Media & Communications 101 class. Our mutual friend, Joanna Katz, introduced us. Both with the last name Katz, she and Rich met during orientation. We’re all still friends to this day.
Susan Christopher, BA ‘96, and
Matt Christopher, BS ‘96
What they miss about GW: Living in DC - and the National Mall and the museums were where we spent our free time.
Meredith Singer, MA ‘95, and
Jeffrey Singer, MA ‘95
Favorite GW date night: We used to enjoy dinner at Bertucci's when it was on campus.
Elise Anne Geltzer, JD ‘70, and
Robert L. Geltzer, JD ‘68
Favorite GW date night: Various inexpensive eating dives along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Lauren Pearcy, MPP ‘11, and
Sam Pearcy, MPP ‘11
How they met: We met standing in line at Starbucks on campus shortly before the first class of the Master's program.
John L. Rogers, BA ‘88, and
Philomena Rogers, MA ‘85
What they miss about GW: Beginning our love in the midst of our youthfulness.
Erin Cunningham, BA ‘12, and
Harry Mather, BA ‘12
What they miss about GW: Being in DC! We actually moved back to DC temporarily during Covid and had so much fun rediscovering Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, and other familiar locales as adults.
Elizabeth Wagner McBride, BA ‘85, and
Bemon Gilmore McBride, III, BA ‘84, MA ‘88
Fun fact: Our first date was President Reagan's second inaugural parade- which was cancelled due to the cold. We went to the museums instead.
Lori Sachs Drucker, BBA ‘80, and
Charlie Drucker, BA ‘80
Fun Fact: We took statistics together Sophomore year and Charlie helped me. He got a C+ and I got a B.