Walk down memory lane leads to new memories for Taylor Brittain Devlin ’14 and Bill Devlin ’14
My name is Taylor (Brittain) Devlin and I graduated from ESU in 2014 with a degree in communication studies. My husband Bill Devlin also graduated from ESU in 2014 but with a degree in physical education. We met in one of our very first classes in our first year at ESU. We can't remember the exact class, but we know it was an English class with Richard Madigan. Bill never lets me live down the fact that I chose another group over his on that first day of class.
That same year I began working with Greg Knowlden in the Sports Information Department, which brought me to almost all of ESU's sporting events. I got to know quite a few athletes because of this, and since Bill was a member of the men's soccer team we became acquaintances. As the school year went on, we began hanging out with the same people and became friends.
Eventually, our relationship grew in January 2014 after Bill asked me to have a drink with him at Flood's on Main Street in Stroudsburg, which we consider our first official date. Fast forward to May 2018. Bill convinced me to head up to East Stroudsburg for a weekend getaway. We decided to stop by the same place where we had our first official date together for a quick bite to eat. Before we could walk through the door, Bill got on one knee and asked me to marry him. I gleefully said yes, then realized that both of our families were already inside ready to celebrate. It couldn't be more perfect to celebrate such a joyous moment in the same place we had our first date years prior.
We were married on November 10, 2018, in Ocean City, N.J. I can honestly say I would not be where I am today without ESU. Bill and I absolutely loved our time there and love to go back and visit frequently. While we both have great jobs we were able to land due to our degrees, the greatest thing ESU gave me was the opportunity to meet the love of my life.
Paul Scheuch ’71 and Nan Scheuch ’72 head toward golden anniversary
Nan and I met on a blind date attending a Tau Kappa Epsilon party in 1969. We were married in 1970 while we were still in college. Nan was a junior and I was a senior. That was almost 49 years ago. We have two married sons who married two wonderful women and they have given us four grandchildren who we totally adore and love. We are looking forward to several more years of marriage and the thrill of watching our grandchildren grow.
Rugby connects Kylie Ebeling ’18 and Nico Werkheiser
Nico and I met at ESU where we both played rugby, so it was only fitting that he planned a surprise proposal at the rugby fields on Mary Street! We had mutual friends and were always hanging out, and eventually our friendship turned into something way more. I graduated in May 2018 and I am currently a graduate student studying speech and language pathology. We share so many memories at ESU…many beyond our engagement in November 2018.
Cupid’s arrow strikes, then sticks for Doug Todd ’71 and Pat Todd ’71
Our first date was to see the movie “Penelope” at the school auditorium on January 26, 1968. We didn’t date anyone else from that night on. After just a few weeks of dating, Doug told me at the Freshman Heart & Soul Dance on February 17 that he thought I was “the one.” It took me a little longer- a few more weeks! We each received degrees in May of 1971. Doug became an elementary physical education teacher for 35 years, and I taught in the elementary grades for 28 years at the same school.
We celebrated 50 years together last year and 48 years of marriage this coming summer. Our children always joke that we are joined at the hip because we are always together. A sign in our home says, “It’s always better when we’re together.” At ESU we acquired our life careers but more importantly our life partner.
He’s some kind of wonderful, yes he is: Noah Soltis ’18 and Anja Whitehead ’18
In the fall semester of 2016, Noah had transferred to ESU from Scranton University. He and I had two classes together. I didn't really know him, but I know I found myself distracted in our broadcast journalism class a lot by his cool and calm attitude towards life, and, of course, he was tall and handsome with a beard. What a bonus! It wasn't until November that I really got to know him on a whirlwind of a trip to Montreal for a class with Rob McKenzie. Noah drove me and three others up in his car. I remember thinking he was some kind of wonderful. We had three whole days away from class, stress, and all our problems back at home so everyone on this trip got to know each other pretty well.
One night the group was walking to dinner and I distinctly remember a couple passing us who looked very much in love. I thought to myself, "Wow, I really want something like that," and then Noah said those words out loud. I think that was the exact moment I knew I wanted to be with him. We didn't look into each other’s eyes that night and fall in love. Nothing like out of the movies. We were friends for almost a year first. I use the term "friends" lightly as there was always some type of spark between us. Then in August, right before our senior year, we began dating.
Noah has been the best thing to ever happen to me, right next to realizing my own self-worth. He's been the person to be there for me through everything: the good, the bad, the messy, the exciting, the boring, the absolutely awful, I mean EVERYTHING. He's the type of person that when I'm sick, sits on my porch until I get home with medicine, cough drops, and my favorite ice cream. He's the man that held me for hours and watched my favorite show with me after I lost my job. He's the man who tells the whole world how proud he is of me when I get a new/better job. He's the man that when I say I want to plan a trip in three days to go back to Montreal, helps me make it happen instead of telling me I'm crazy. He makes me feel like solid gold and opened my eyes to see that love did exist in a time where I had lost hope. He taught me that someone could love me for me, love me without restrictions, and without wanting to change me. He was everything I never thought I would find.
Now don't get me wrong, nothing is always peaches and roses but when the going gets tough, we work our way through it. Together. When I think of our relationship, our beginning, and everything we've grown through together, it takes me right back to ESU. It takes me back to that classroom on the second floor of Zimbar. It takes me back to Montreal. I can't help but think ESU brought us together, and I am forever grateful. Noah even said to me once, "I think I had to leave Scranton so I could find you."
Now Noah and I are fully adulting. I got my dream job as a reporter for WBRE-TV and he is a co-host at Fox Sports Radio in the Lehigh Valley. And we even recently got an apartment in the Poconos because we couldn't find it in our hearts to leave an area so close to our hearts. ESU gave me the education I needed to get my dream job, it gave me my life-long friends, and it gave me the love of my life. I am forever grateful for all ESU has given me, especially Noah. And the adventure for us continues!
Caroline Meyers ’10 and James Mathers ’08 come full circle
Jim and I first met in the fall semester of 2006. For me it was my freshman year, and Jim, he had transferred in as a junior. Being a hotel, restaurant, and tourism major myself and he an exercise science major, we may not have met at all if we hadn’t both been involved in the marching band. He was a trumpet player and I was in the color guard. Over the next two years we became close friends, even becoming founding fathers of the Mu Epsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi.
After graduation Jim and I went different ways keeping in touch only occasionally as we pursued life in different states. Ten years after we first met we began corresponding more frequently and finally confessed that we both had a crush on the other person all those years ago. For our first date we decided to go back to where we became friends at ESU. We went to dinner at Sarah Street Bar and Grill and grabbed drinks at Flood’s.
After two years of dating in August 2018, Jim got down on one knee and proposed. I said yes. Although no wedding date has been set, we are excited to be spending the rest of our lives together.
On second thought, Angela Lager O’Hara ’01 experiences love at first sight with Steven O’Hara ’02 M’04
This goofy guy who would become like a brother to me introduced me to this group of nerdy types that lived in or congregated in Minsi Hall. There was something about one of them, but I had a few guys from back home to work out of my system first. After those guys were on the distant horizon, I saw this fella as I should. Heck, when my roommate asked me if it was OK to date him (guess even she kind of’ saw it) I started to really see that there might be something there! After they fizzled, I started finding myself in his path whenever I could. Had I not pursued him, who knows how different our lives may have turned out? It took until the end of the last semester I was in school for us to finally get together. That was May 2001, we’ve been together ever since, and we just keep getting better.
Katie Cartlidge Heath ’09 and Brian Heath ’10 go from fast friendship to romantic relationship
My name is Katie Heath, formerly Katie Cartlidge. I married the love of my life, Brian Heath, nine months ago, after dating for nine years. We met during my senior year at ESU. Brian went to high school with my roommate, who introduced us. We formed a quick friendship, which soon blossomed into a romance right before my graduation in 2009. Brian even took over my lease the following year in my apartment, as he graduated in 2010. We recently went back to campus, where all of the memories of where we started came rushing back. ESU will always have a special place in our hearts for bringing us together.
Lauren Hannan Hazlett ’13 and James Hazlett ’12 share their love of track and each other
My husband James Hazlett and I, Lauren Hazlett (Hannan), met at ESU back in August 2009. We were both on the track team. He did high jump and I was a long jumper and sprinter. We started dating shortly after meeting in March 2010. We spent a lot of time together traveling with the team and moving in together. He graduated in May 2012 with an exercise science degree, and I graduated in May 2013 with a business management degree. We married four years later, November 11, 2014. We have two boys, Ronan who is two, Tatum who is nine months, and two boxers. Our oldest son competed in his first outdoor track meet in June 2017 doing the 100m and long jump. He was 22 months old. We still live in Stroudsburg and go to games and track meets when we have free time. ESU will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
April Koveleskie ’11 and Franco Fabiano ’11 experience instant chemistry
We met our first day of freshman year, both living on the second floor of Lenape Hall. We became best friends instantly, although I think Franco was hoping for more.... haha, and remained that way throughout college. Our friends would always joke around that if we both weren’t married by 30, we would have to get married. Franco lived in Freehold, N.J., and I lived in Florence, N.J., only about 45 minutes away from each other. Even on holiday breaks and summers, we would hang out. It wasn’t until right after college that we began dating. We moved in together in an apartment in 2014 and then bought our first house together in 2017. In summer of 2018, Franco proposed while on a cruise to Bermuda. We are getting married in June 2020. Thank you, ESU, for bringing us together!
Christina DePalma ’17 M’19 and Abel Guerrero ’17 meant to last
It all started in 1999 when Abel and I met in preschool and instantly became best friends. We grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools, and blossomed a relationship that has lasted until today. In seventh grade, Abel asked me to be his girlfriend through a Myspace message. I obviously accepted this romantic gesture and the rest is history.
Who knew my middle school sweetheart would turn into my high school and college sweetheart? We went to our eighth grade semi-formal, junior prom, and senior ball together. When it was time for college, I decided to move to Pennyslvania and attend ESU while Abel stayed back in our hometown of Brick, N.J., attending community college. The first year being apart from each other was tough, as we hadn't been apart since preschool. We managed to get through it and Abel surprised me by applying to ESU and deciding to join me in East Stroudsburg the following year.
Fast forward to 2019 and we are both ESU alumni, and I am back in East Stroudsburg obtaining my master's degree, while Abel is back in our hometown working. We ended college the same way we started, living in different towns, chasing our dreams. Watching our relationship grow, literally from the time we were toddlers, has been one of the most incredible things I have ever been a part of. The love we have for each other continues to grow year after year. This May we will be celebrating our 11th anniversary but have known each other for 19 years.
Rachel Parsells Travers ’03 and Robert Travers ’05 take a chance and change plans
Rob and Rachel met at ESU during their time on campus through mutual friends. What started off as just a friendship turned into a love story right before Rachel's graduation. With plans to return to her hometown after her December graduation, Rob realized he had better make a move before she moved away forever and they lost touch. So, he finally mustered up the courage to ask her out on their first date in October 2003 to see a movie at the Foxwood's Movie Theater. After that they were inseparable and Rachel changed her plans to stay in East Stroudsburg. Making use of her new degree in Hotel & Tourism Management, she took a job at Skytop Lodge while she waited for her boyfriend to finish his Biochemistry degree the following year. They wed in 2009 and bought their first home in Blakeslee, Pa., settling down just outside of the Stroudsburg area. On October 17, 2019, they will be celebrating their 10-year wedding anniversary and relationship of 16 years! They enjoy the peaceful lake life of the Pocono Mountains with their son Rhys (age 3) and two bulldogs Stella and Bertha.
Polly Case Glowatz ’74 and Mike Glowatz ’70 find their game
Polly Case was a female athlete, entering East Stroudsburg just as Title IX was instituted in 1970. She arrived thinking that sports were a thing of the past for her. However, the first week, one of her dorm mates and she wandered up to the gym to find a full-on game of intense women’s basketball going on. Polly had surprisingly found her people.
Mike entered ESU in 1968 as a second semester freshman, thinking that he would stay for a semester but realized he liked the learning environment of smaller classes and the caring, approachable professors. Mike stayed on to graduate and then earned his master’s in biology from ESU.
It was in his senior year when he put a dime in the payphone in Shawnee and called Polly who was in Laurel to go to see a movie. It might have been The French Connection. Mike had a Chevy Nova and became the number one women’s basketball fan for the next four years while Polly finished her studies. Polly and Mike will celebrate their 45th anniversary in 2019.
Not even deployments could separate Jacqueline Ventriglia Phelan ’02 and Matthew Phelan ’02
My name is Jacqueline (Ventriglia) Phelan. I began college at ESU in fall 1997. Fall of 1998, my husband Matthew Phelan began his college career at ESU. We were both living in Shawnee Hall and became fast friends, best friends! By March 1999, we were inseparable. We officially began dating in March 1999 and this past December we celebrated 15 years of marriage.
After we both graduated college in 2002, I was living back at home with my parents, and Matt enlisted in the United States Army. His first duty station was Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Ariz. I went to visit him in October 2003 and he asked me to marry him. We were married six weeks later in December 2003 and I moved to Arizona in January 2004. We were moved to Fort Stewart, Ga., in August 2004 and after a year-long deployment, we got pregnant with our first daughter, Jenna (named after my college roommate, Jenna Feathers, who was killed in December 1999). Jenna was born November 2006 and Matt was again deployed in May 2007. Jenna and I moved back to New Jersey to be closer to family. Matt came home and was stationed at Fort Monmouth, N.J. He was again deployed in April 2010, a few weeks after our second daughter, Emily, was born. Matt has been out of the Army now for about nine years and in April 2013, we welcomed yet another daughter, Erin. This past December we celebrated 15 years of marriage and none of it would have been possible without ESU.
Sarah Tucci Biancamano ’10 and Vincent Biancamano ’10 from neighbors to spouses
We met on Move-In Day freshman year in our assigned dorm, Shawnee Hall. His was room 208, and mine was 324. We would see each other around often as we had the same group of friends. Since we were friends, he actually took me to the Theta Chi Date Party second semester. Sophomore year 2007 began, and we began dating in September and never stopped.
After graduation in 2010, we moved apart but stayed together, frequently seeing each other. In 2012, we decided to move in with each other – to the big city. We rented a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Hoboken, N.J. He went to NY Law School, and I started my job as a Food & Beverage Manager at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. In 2016, we got married in Hoboken, N.J., and in 2018 we welcomed the first member of our family, Lucille Sue Biancamano. Vinny is a practicing attorney in Edison, N.J., and I am an Event Specialist/Program Director in Lower Manhattan and we currently are renovating our 100-year-old home at the Jersey Shore.
Jessica Oliva ’10 and Jason Oszvart ’11 make ESU part of their engagement
About 10 years ago Jason and I met. If he were telling you this story, he would say we met while he was benching 405 at the East Stroudsburg University (ESU) Recreational Center. But if you know Jason, that is not completely accurate. We all know Jessica was the real athlete, playing soccer at ESU for four years.
However, one thing is true - we did meet at the ESU Recreational Center and spent plenty of great times together in college.
The way I proposed to Jessica was done with ESU in mind. It was July 2017, and I surprised her with the proposal on the end of a hike of Kittatinny Ridge. Not only did I surprise her with a ring but a pair of Nikes and the words "Marry Me" on them. Jessica is a huge sneaker head.
Ten years after we met, we are set to marry July 3, 2019. I currently work for the Buffalo Bills as an assistant strength coach, and Jessica works for Woodrow Wilson Middle School as a health & physical education teacher in Clifton, N.J. Even though we are in a long-distance relationship, we have found a way to make everything work, and it all started from our time at ESU.
ESU holds special places in the hearts of Ashley Tucker Dillon ’15 and Tyler Dillon ’15
Tyler and I met at East Stroudsburg University in 2012 at my freshman orientation. Tyler was an orientation leader at the time. We met in passing and remained friends from afar until I was hired as an orientation leader the following spring. We began working together and became close friends through working three different on-campus positions at the same time together. This included working at Stony Acres as ropes course instructors for two years. Our relationship never changed or wavered all through our undergraduate careers.
Upon graduation, Tyler was accepted to Indiana University of Pennsylvania for his graduate program in higher education and student affairs, while I remained at ESU to pursue my graduate degree in public health. During this time apart is when our friendship grew and blossomed into a relationship and we became boyfriend and girlfriend. We traveled back and forth between the two state schools to see one another until we graduated, and Tyler accepted a position at Boston College.
I was still living and working in East Stroudsburg when Tyler came to visit for ESU Homecoming in fall 2017. On October 21, 2017, in front of four of our closest friends from undergrad, Tyler got down on one knee in between Stroud Hall and the University Center and asked me to marry him. Remember how we met at my freshman orientation? This was the exact spot we first met on campus while I was waiting to get my first eCard.
A little less than one year later, on October 13, 2018, we became husband and wife at Stony Acres where we held our wedding ceremony with the help of Maddy and Chuck (the caretakers). Stony Acres will forever hold a very special place in both of our hearts as it is where some of our best lifelong memories were made. We currently both work for Boston College and we reside on campus here in Massachusetts where Tyler works as a residence director and I work in the office of health promotion. We constantly find ourselves back at East Stroudsburg University for special events, connecting with college friends, saying hi to faculty and staff we still keep in touch with, or just to take a walk around the quad and reminisce. ESU will always hold a special place in our lives and we hope to move back to the area someday!
Kevin Thompson ’09 and Caitlin Kuhn Thompson ’09 can get through anything
Kevin and I met five days after we graduated in 2009. After being at the same college for all those years and having many mutual friends, I still can’t believe we weren’t introduced until after we graduated! Kevin was a member of the ESU baseball team and I was a member of the ESU volleyball team. Being part of the athletic program, we knew of each other and would walk by each other in the field house, but it wasn’t until May 7, 2009 that we officially met. We have officially been together (and inseparable) since May 14, 2009.
After two years of dating, Kevin proposed July 30, 2011. On June 23, 2012, we became Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Alan Thompson! BEST DAY EVER! (I’m still not sure how I got so lucky! It was a beautiful wedding and our reception was so much fun - so many of our ESU friends were there to make it extra memorable. Those kids know how to have a good time, if you know what I mean!
We had the most amazing honeymoon. Right after we got home, we closed on our first house together. We hadn’t lived with each other before marriage, so we were really looking forward to getting to know each other better and learning even more about one another. August 6, 2012, was the day we found out we were expecting a little girl. Born April 1, 2013, we welcomed our first born: Brynn Marie Thompson. She is the prettiest little thing I ever laid eyes on.
What an exciting first year of marriage! The following year wasn’t as exciting. Right after Brynn’s first birthday, Kevin was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I’ll never forget rushing him to the emergency room and a doctor telling me I got him there just in time; if we waited much longer he would have slipped into a coma. That has by far been the scariest day of our lives. After this life-altering diagnosis, we found out we were expecting again. It was exactly the type of news that we needed at this difficult time. We were thrilled and so excited for Brynn to be a big sister. A few weeks later, we learned I lost the baby. Our hearts were crushed. 2014 was a ROUGH year for us... BUT a few months down the road we found out we were expecting again.
This time we were nervous and didn’t know what was in store for us, but on May 22, 2015, our son Liam Alan Thompson, was born. Boy was he handsome! The day after Liam was born, the doctor gave us some bad news. They said Liam may have spina bifida. Ugh - my heart After ultrasounds and MRI’s we learned Liam in fact did NOT have spina bifida but did have a tethered spinal cord. Liam had surgery when he was five months old. We weren’t sure when and if Liam would walk, talk, etc. We prayed so hard, each and every day. But fast forward nearly four years later and he is right on track for boys his age. God does answer prayers!)
Without Kevin, I know I wouldn’t have been able to get through the last few years. No matter what life threw at us, we had each other and that’s all we really needed. He has been the absolute best dad and husband. I love watching him with our kids. He is the hardest working man I know. I’m able to stay at home and raise our kids and I’m forever grateful to him to have that opportunity. He’s worked so hard and has advanced in his career - everyone who knows Kevin, loves him!
In the next few months we are starting to build our forever home. I still can’t believe this year will mark 10 years of having him in my life. Although we had some emotionally tough times, we also had some of the most amazing times. All the beach vacations, all the Christmases, all the birthdays, our trip to Disneyworld - every day is just better because I get to be his wife and share all these special memories. Not to mention he made me a mother, the best job ever! Our kids are super active and love being outdoors and playing all kinds of sports so, needless to say, we plan on Liam breaking all of Kevin’s ESU baseball records and Brynn breaking all of my ESU volleyball records :)
Nikki Bross Dunleavy ’07 and Dan Dunleavy ’07 share a love story
My husband and I are college sweethearts that met right outside Dansbury Commons. We started dating shortly after meeting that first week of freshman year in 2003. We graduated together in 2007. We got married in 2013 and have two beautiful daughters together. My godparents also met at ESU so I love sharing the same love story as them.
Angela Pompelli Butler ’01 and Robert Butler ’04 discover love really is in the air at ESU
My husband and I met as friends at ESU and ended up married. We dated for seven years, engaged for one, and married for 11, so we are talking almost 20 years later. Ironically, my sister-in-law and brother- in-law met and married at ESU, as well as many of our friends, so I guess you could say there is love in the air!
My husband graduated with a community health degree, got his alternate route certification and is now a physical education teacher at school #16 in Paterson, N.J. I graduated with a degree in communications/broadcasting and worked in radio for 13 years. I am currently a top real estate agent in North Jersey. We reside in Little Falls, N.J.
We got married 11 years ago surrounded by friends and family. We also have three beautiful children, seven-year-old twins, Quin and Francesca, and our baby Angelina who just turned 2! We also just celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary in Jamaica, where we took our honeymoon, and went back a decade later and renewed our wedding vows on the same beach with our children.
I can't count the endless memories and good times both of us made at ESU and still do, going to homecomings and other events. East Stroudsburg University will always have a place in my heart, as it had led me to my husband and some forever friends. I am sure it has done the same for others: past, present and future. Who knows? Maybe our children will even experience it there one day. Thank you, ESU.
John Westlake ’72 is Connie Sweeney Westlake’s ’73 reason to stay
I was a sophomore; Connie, a freshman. She had been going home every weekend since arriving on campus and hoped to find a reason to stay on the weekends. Pete Gasper, a football teammate of mine at ESSC, was also an acquaintance of Connie’s from high school. Pete asked her if there was anyone she had seen who interested her and might want to meet. I happened to be nearby when she pointed me out to Pete. She had spotted me walking the quad one day from her Minsi Hall dorm window. Later, Pete told me what transpired and shortly thereafter I approached Connie in the campus cafeteria and introduced myself. At first we went to a few parties, and our relationship quickly blossomed into true love. We were inseparable through college and remain so. We married two days after Connie’s graduation in 1973, and this May we will celebrate our 46th anniversary. We have a son, Adam. He and his wife Rachel live in Crested Butte, Colo.
It's ESU forever for Scott DeStefon ’93 and JoAnne Clayton DeStefon ’92
My husband and I attended ESU together. We met in September of 1989, our sophomore year at ESU. We both lived in Shawnee Hall. That same year we both pledged. Scott pledged Phi Sigma Kappa and I pledged Delta Phi Epsilon. We dated from 1989 and got engaged in September of 1992. I graduated in December of 1992, with a BA in history and a BS in secondary education. Scott graduated in May of 1993 with a BS in recreation and leisure services management.
We married in September of 1993, celebrating with six ESU alumni in our wedding party as well as a number of ESU alumni in attendance at our wedding. We continue to stay involved in the ESU community, returning to homecomings and graduations of friends.
We have just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in September of 2018 with our three beautiful children. We are avid Pittsburgh Steelers fans, enjoy spending time with our family at the beach in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, and watching Steelers games.
ESSC grad Anet Petruccelli Villani ’79 and ESU grad Jim Villani ’80 find common ground
My husband, Jimmy Villani’s journey as a high school quarterback took him from the Citadel to West Virginia University, and finally to East Stroudsburg State College. This is where we met, at an ice cream social in Stroud Hall in 1978. I worked in the library for three years, and Jimmy played football under Denny Douds. I was actually in Jimmy’s dorm room when I got a call that I was hired as a kindergarten teacher at Coolbaugh Elementary in Tobyhanna. Jimmy had just signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks in April 1980. We were married in June 1980, after Jimmy graduated.
Our cool story that we tell our friends and family is that I, Anet Petruccelli Villani, graduated in 1979, from ESSC, and Jimmy Villani graduated in 1980 from ESU. (We wear separate shirts most times to tease each other!) We fell in love at college, got married in 1980, and 40 years later, have two grown children, Carla and Richie. They each have two sons. So, Jimmy and I are blessed with four grandsons…and to think it all started at an ice cream social in Stroud Hall.
George Katchak ’67 moves to Kentucky for Gail Katchak ’66 and never looks back
Our first encounter was at Chick's Pizza on Normal Street in April 1966. This was about 1 1/2 months before Gail's graduation. This was Chick's Pizza's special night where we all made pizzas for 75 cents for a large pizza. On his specials we would make approximately 300 pizzas in one night. After the evening was over, there was a gathering of employees for a post party. Apparently I wasn't too impressive because Gail told me to get lost and didn't want to see me again. Needless to say, she invited me to her senior dance and things improved rapidly from that point.
Her dad accepted a transfer with United Parcel Service to Louisville, Ky., and Gail agreed to stay a year with her family there. We had dated over the summer as she was staying with her girlfriend's family and worked at Jones Beach on Long Island. Then, we began a long-distance relationship. That year I visited her in Louisville and interviewed for a teaching and football coaching position. I was awarded that position and I moved to Louisville. We got married in June 1968 and celebrated our 50th anniversary last summer in Florida with our whole family. We have three children, all happily married, and seven grandchildren. We purchased a photography studio in November 1992 and operated it until we retired in August 2017. The last 50 years have been great and only hope that I can make another 50 with my lovely bride.
Transfers lead to same place for Edward Seeger ’90 and Jacqueline Downey Seeger ’90
Both Ed and I met at ESU. We were next door neighbors at The Pocono Grande, an ESU transfer housing location about a mile off campus. It was great being out at the Grande. Seeing as we were all transfers, we established strong bonds with each other.
Ed and I were engaged in November 1990 and were married in front of our many ESU classmates in October 1991. We reside in southern New Jersey with our three boys: Erich, 21, Jacob, 18, and Phil, 15. I work in education at our local elementary school and Ed is a tax assessor. Thank you for this opportunity to share our ESU sweetheart story.
Brooke Derin ’16 and Justin Walker ’15 meet just in time
My name is Brooke Derin. I was a member of the Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority and Justin was a member of the Sigma Pi Fraternity. We had both joined the same semester. For three years we had done many community service and other school events together, barely taking notice of each other. The semester before Justin graduated, we started talking, and the rest is history.
We became engaged on July 15, 2018. Justin proposed to me on the beaches of North Carolina on a family vacation. We celebrated a large engagement party with all of our ESU friends and family. Going on four years later, we have a wedding date of October 17, 2020. Meeting at ESU we thought it would only be right that we get married near where we met. We will be getting married at Trout Lake in Stroudsburg, Pa., surrounded by all our family and ESU brothers, sisters, and friends. Thank you ESU for bringing us our forever!
Michael Strauser ’88 discovers the wrong room is the right room of Carol Chintala Strauser ’87
Carol and I met at ESU in Hemlock Hall in the fall of 1984. I was going over to meet some girls who were friends of a friend of mine, Tony Carrell, but I wound up walking into the wrong room. There was Carol and her roommate Trisha DeMarchi (Ahn). We spoke briefly and I then excused myself to find Tony, who was in the room next door. After being in that room with Tony, I decided I was much more interested in the previous room and carefully worked my way back over there. Carol and I became friends and then later that December we became steady boyfriend and girlfriend.
We have three daughters, Megan, Gina, and Amy, who is currently a junior at ESU and plays on the women’s soccer team.
Ryan Brancato ‘15 and Melissa Rae Guarino ’15 close at hand all along
Our story began Aug. 29, 2013. Melissa Rae was the student director for the Special Olympics Eastern Fall Sectional being held at ESU. I was a volunteer turned Olympic Village Coordinator. We started working closely together in preparation for the event, and conversations started to move away from event planning and more towards getting to know each other. Melissa Rae and I began bonding on a deeper level after discovering that we both lived not too far from each other in Staten Island, N.Y. for our adolescent years before our families moved to East Stroudsburg (Melissa’s family) and Saylorsburg (Ryan’s family).
I played in a summer volleyball league that her best friends also played in in Bangor, Pa. There was one day when I vividly remember playing the best team in the league (Melissa’s friends’ team) and she was there watching. We were fascinated that we had been around each other for all of our lives and finally came face to face in DeNike 115 on Aug. 29, 2013. Now, we have a dog named Cato and live in Rhode Island on 10 acres of land. We are to be wed on Oct. 5, 2019 and are more than excited to continue our beautiful story!
Relocating proves to be worth the move for Diane Ehrgood Toman ’97 M’00 and Kevin Toman ’99
My husband and I met in December 1995. We met at a hypnotist show in the Common Grounds. My friend and I volunteered to participate in the show. I was hesitant to do this but went along with my friend. My roommate introduced us. He was wearing a jacket I thought said Keith on it. It turns out it was Kevin. We went on about our business the rest of the night.
A few days later we were both in the computer lab working on assignments. We both looked up at each other at the same time and gave a questioning look on our faces that said, "Do I know you?" and gave a friendly smile. I finished my work and left the room. We met again in the hallway and began to talk for a few minutes. I said, "OK, well, I'm going to get something to eat now". He asked if he could join me. I had a boyfriend at the time, but I said OK. While we were talking that night, we realized we had a lot in common. He seemed easy to talk to. I am a really shy person when it comes to guys I like, but I was at ease since I was already dating someone at the time.
After that night we ended up spending a lot of time together. The more time I spent with Kevin, the more I realized I was with the wrong guy. I ended up breaking up with the guy and Kevin was there for me emotionally. Kevin knew from the start he wanted a relationship. I wasn't so sure. We stayed friends for six months before I said we could be "official.” A few years later after we had both graduated, we were living in two different states, but still maintained a relationship. He eventually moved to North Carolina where his mom was living. I was in New Jersey working as a teacher assistant and then a daycare teacher.
I decided to take a chance and move down to North Carolina as long as he had a place of his own. We ended up becoming engaged a year later and got married two years after that. We got married on June 25, 2005. We do not have any children, but we do have a sweet yellow lab. We are still very much in love and believe we are soulmates. We are very happy to have met! We are very supportive of each other.
ESU rugby among memories for Ryan Murphy ’08 and Kim Travers Murphy ’10
Ryan and Kim met and started dating in 2007. Ryan played rugby at ESU and was in his senior year. Kim had just transferred to ESU and was a sophomore. They met at a rugby function and have been together ever since, now married and have two beautiful kids. ESU holds a lot of great memories for Kim and Ryan.
Angela Passero Rini ’03 and Nicholas Rini ’03 inseparable for 17 years and counting
Angela Rini (Passero) and Nicholas Rini, both class of 2003, reside in Breinigsville, Pa. We have been happily married for almost 11 years and have four children ranging in ages from 10 to 2. We met junior year of college and have been inseparable ever since!
Dance marathon sets the stage for Craig Casucci ’86 and Robin Scott Casucci ’85
Craig and I met at the Panhellenic 48-hour dance marathon in 1983 when he was giving massages and I was dancing. We got married in August 1988 and celebrated our 30th anniversary last year.
Jen Felbinger ’92 and Tom Wolgast ’91 celebrate two decades together
Jen Felbinger and Tom Wolgast’s first date was in 1989 and they will be married 20 years on March 10.