Alumni Sweethearts 2025
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.
Jason Wyman, BS ’23, and Denise Dimapilis, BS ‘23
“The day after moving in our freshman year, I decided to go down my dorm hall to try to meet my neighbors. Best decision ever. I knocked on her door, two doors down from me, and never looked back. We had the same friend group and always hung out. It’s always the ones you least expect. A month later, we decided to try dating. Over five years later, and many deli dates later, we’re going strong and couldn’t be happier!” – Jason
Robert Michaels, BA ’74, and Nancy Gordon-Michaels, BA ‘74
“Our junior year Thurston Hall went coed, and I moved into the dorm after living off campus the previous year. She lived two doors away on the 4th floor and I visited one of her roommates, who I previously knew. We started dating and stayed in DC after graduation and continued the relationship. We married in 1977 and have two sons and two grandsons. We lived in New Jersey until retirement when we moved to Hilton Head Island, SC and Ashburn, VA.” – Robert
Anna Connelly, BA ’22, and Daniel Nguyen, BS ‘20
“We met while attending a Deloitte case competition with the GWSB. We were on the same team and quickly bonded. Our team won too! I was a sophomore and Daniel was a senior. After the competition, we lost contact for a few years but reconnected in 2024 over our passion for cherry blossom photography and have been dating ever since. We
did long distance for two years between NYC and DC, taking Amtraks every weekend to see each other. We now live together in Arlington with our Samoyed puppy, Alfie.” – Anna
Dani (Maria) Quattrone (Ayoung), BA ’11, and Matthew Quattrone, BS ’10, MS ‘12
“We met through a mutual friend when Matt picked me us up at my freshman dorm, Thurston. At first, we were friends. When he told me he was from Italy I didn’t believe him because he is blond with blue eyes but then we became friends. After a few months of friendship, he asked me out on a date to a small Italian restaurant in Georgetown called Ristorante Piccolo. By our six months together we were inseparable and did everything together - until this day. We moved to Houston, TX for work after he graduated from graduate school at GWU in 2012. We officially got married in my home country of Ecuador in 2014. We have two kids who are 4 and 6 years old.” – Dani
David Press, BA ’77, and Carol Schwartzman Press, BA ‘77
“We met in our dorm after both transferring to GW in our junior year, living in Madison Hall. I asked her out for nearly two years before she finally agreed late in our senior year. A few months after graduation, we both moved to Boston, and on November 11, 1979, we were married.” – David
Siobhan (Forde) Crosby, BA ’98, and Ben Crosby, BBA ‘98
“Ben and I met through our mutual friend Elliot, but we first flirted at an off-campus party when I overheard him say he was cold and lent him my sweatshirt as an excuse to talk to him. I asked for it back later that night, and we haven’t stopped talking since. – Siobhan
Adam Firestone, BBA ’19, and Ellen Boyer, BBA ‘19
“Ellen and I met for the first time in Prof. Anna Helm’s Introduction to International Business class. In addition to sitting in the same row for a semester, we also both worked at the GWSB F. Fowler Career Center at the front desk. Eight years of later and we are now engaged to be married without GW we would have never met our soulmates!” – Adam
Annabelle Castleman, JD ’23, and Joey Arkfeld, JD ‘25
“We met during law school, at the 1L moot court competition. I was a judge, and Joey was a competitor. He asked me to get coffee under the pretense of learning about the law firm I was headed to after graduation. We talked for hours, he walked me home, and we have since been inseparable. Later that year he proposed, and we are getting married in December of this year!” – Annabelle
Ioana Condrut Dietsch, BFA ’04, and Kevin Dietsch, BFA ‘05
“We met in the summer of 2003. I majored in Graphic Design which was in a building at the top of Georgetown, and he majored in Photojournalism at the main Corcoran building. We would have never met during the school year. However, we both took on a summer student assistant role. I noticed him across the hall - he didn't fit the look of an "art school" type. He was built more like an athlete in preppy clothes. We kept stealing glances through the two open doors or when we made excuses to take something to the other class. I introduced myself at the first opportunity days later. After chatting through our lunches a few times, I made the first move and asked him to get ice cream at the waterfront in Georgetown. We shared our interest in the same philosophers and talked of our future goals and aspirations. I liked that he already knew what he wanted to do with his life/career. We dated fo 5 years and have now been married for another 15. We still live in DC and have two wonderful daughters. We stayed in our chosen professions - he is a photojournalist, and I am a creative director. I am grateful for all the choices we made that brought us to the right place and time, allowing me to meet him.” – Ioana
Laura Tykol Garrison, BA ’75, and William Garrison, BA ‘73
“I was a sophomore, and Bill was a senior—the boy next door in Crawford Hall. We had met before, but our first real "date" (though Bill didn’t see it that way) was a trip to The Circle to see a movie. He was walking down the hall as I returned from class, and when I asked where he was going, he said the movies. I quickly ran to grab some money and joined him, not realizing he actually preferred going alone. Fifty years later, we’re still going to the movies together.” – Laura
The love goes on... 🥰
Read more GW love stories we heard from alumni this year!
Russell Libby, BS ’74, MD ’79, and Dr. Mary Schmidt
What they miss most about GW: That time of our lives and the wonderment of becoming physicians.
Juliana Funkhouser, JD ’21, and Matt Clinton, JD ‘21
How they met: We met during the first week of 1L at GW Law. Matt asked me to show him around D.C. as I grew up in the area. We went out for pizza and hit it off right away. We have been inseparable ever since and are now married.
Sophie van Gilder, BA ’22, and Theodore Tilden, BBA ‘22
How they met: We met in August 2020 while helping first-years move into Madison Hall with FSL. We spent the morning carrying boxes from cars to new student's rooms, and the rest is history.
Jessie Wasilczyk, BA ’21, and Robert Wasilczyk, BA ‘21
What they miss about GW: Being close to all our friends. Since we graduated, all our friends are spread across the country and all of them are doing amazing things! We miss the days when we all lived a few blocks from each other.
Vincent Gallub, BA ’18, and Angelina Gallub, BA ‘17
Favorite GW date night: Our first date at Campono!
Margarita Kyza Karavioti, BS ’24, and Rigel Brown, BS ‘24
How they met: We were freshman at South Hall and met during COVID.
Dr. Martin Burt, MA’ 83, and Dorothy Burt, BA ‘83
Fun fact: We both love poetry and cooking.
Aaron Kwittken, BA ’92, and Tessa Thomas Kwittken, BBA ‘92
How they met: At the dining hall. We exchanged “hi” smiles and furtive glances.
Nancy Hafner, MD ’84, RES ’89, and Gordon Hafner, MD ’83, RES ‘84
How they met: We met in the library at the medical school. We would study together and have dinner at the hospital cafeteria. We were good friends who then progressed to more!
John Hoglund, JD ’73, and Patricia Hoglund, MA ‘72
Favorite GW date night: Our favorite dates were the restaurant tours we’d plan—different spots for pre-drinks, followed by hors d’oeuvres, then the main course, dessert, and finally, after dinner drinks.
Marissa Salgado, BA ’15, and Jon Paramore, BA ‘16
Favorite GW date night: We used to climb the fire escape to the top of the anthropology
townhouse building and hang out on the roof.
Joey Hoffman, BA ’14, and Rebeca Teplitz, BA ‘14
How they met: Rebeca and I met through a mutual friend, Ali Gumberg, and we started dating our junior year. During our time together at GW, we pushed each other to achieve our career aspirations and set the tone for our future together.
Cher Dong, MS ’18, and Yanbo Li, MS ‘18
Favorite GW date night: Gelman Library—who knew late-night study sessions could be
so romantic?
Irene Bowen, JD ’76, and Larry Goldberg, JD ‘76
What they miss most about GW: Location location location: museums, monuments,
mall, night life.