Watch out Cupid, you’ve got competition. Who knew the Patriot was also a successful matchmaker?
To commemorate Valentine’s Day, members of Mason Nation sent us their love stories that told of how classes, snowstorms, the Green Machine and much more started them toward their happily-ever-afters.
Here are a few of our favorites.
Scott Weeren, BS Accounting ’90, and Ellen Graham Weeren, BA English ’90
Though they took different degree paths, Scott and Ellen found themselves taking Film and Media Studies director Cynthia Fuchs’s film class in the fall of 1989. When Ellen saw the syllabus, she decided she wasn’t interested in the film selections and planned to drop the class. Then she saw Scott.
“[He was] sitting in the back row with his hat askew. Instead of dropping the class, we started watching the movies together and got engaged that May,” Ellen wrote.
The couple has been together for 26 years and has three children. Ellen returned to Mason and is pursuing an MFA in creative writing, and her daughter plays for Mason’s women’s soccer team.
“We are a Mason family through and through,” Ellen wrote.
Victoria Andreotti, BA Music ’17, and Andrew Kerper, BA Music ’16
Victoria recalls the moment perfectly.
“The first Green Machine rehearsal of my freshman year beneath the west hoop of the Patriot Center [now EagleBank Arena], Andrew asked me, ‘What’s your name?’
“One thousand-six-hundred-and-seventy days later, above the beautiful red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, Andrew asked me, ‘Will you marry me?’”
Yazmin Dzib, BA Psychology ’15, and Tijani Musa, BA Global Affairs ’15
Yazmin and Tijani initially met as high school students in Mason’s Early Identification Program (EIP), but according to Yazmin, “I thought he was really annoying back then.”
Even so, Yazmin contacted Tijani, a resident assistant, for tips before she had her own RA interview. Their friendship developed over the summer of 2013, when they worked together as academic mentors with EIP.
“That summer, we spent our evenings after work together working out,” Yazmin wrote. “We would go run at Burke Lake and motivate each other to keep running until the end of the trail. We talked and got to know each other for a couple months after that. He helped me create my RA bulletin boards and gave me ideas for programs.”
On the night of [Yazmin’s] sorority introduction, “[Tijani] showed up with roses and a big smile on his face. I knew then that he was the right person for me,” Yazmin wrote.
Four-and-a-half years later, Tijani got down on one knee. They will be married this April.
Bridget (Mayo) Omberg, BSW ’17, MSW ’18, and Tucker Omberg, BS Economics ’17
Bridget and Tucker met on the first day of Orientation and instantly became best friends.
“We spent lots of time snuggling up in the Eastern Shore common room and went on countless trips to Southside,” Bridget wrote.
They had their first date during a Halloween outing through the Honors College and married on the same day five years later. Tucker is currently studying for his PhD in economics at Mason.
“We’re expecting our first baby in July, and none of it would’ve happened if we hadn’t picked Mason.”
Christina (Carter) Clark, BA Arts and Visual Technology ’11, and Elias Clark
In the fall of 2009, Christina was moving into Northern Neck when she found a stranger, Elias, in her room as part of a group of mutual friends. But between Christina’s classes, art studios and dance practices with Mason’s hip-hop dance team UrbanKnowlogy 101, the two kept missing each other.
Then Snowmageddon hit Northern Virginia in 2010, covering the grounds with more than 30 inches of snow that closed all Mason campuses and, as Christina put it, “fast-tracked our romance.”
“To mark the occasion, we raided the convenience store in the JC for snacks and snuggled up to watch the Super Bowl,” Christina wrote.
They were married in fall 2015 and recently welcomed their first child, Violet.
Ashley Hill, BA Communication ’17, and Tyler Byrum, BA Communication ’16
Ashley came to Mason to study journalism and pursue broadcast journalism. When researching Mason Cable News, the student-run news program, she said she noticed Tyler, who she called a “handsome student news anchor.”
After gaining a spot as a Mason Cable News anchor, she discovered Tyler would be her cohost. At that point, Ashley wrote, it was “love at first sight.”
They spent the next few years coanchoring shows, attending many Mason basketball games and supporting each other through their classes.
“Mason gave me the greatest love story of my life, and I will always be grateful it brought us together,” Ashley wrote.