From Study Buddies to Soulmates: 12 Stories of Love and Friendship that Began at UC San Diego

Gerald and I met in 2003 at UC San Diego. Gerald was a recent Class of 2000 graduate (go Revelle!) and was working as the Assistant Director for Early Academic Outreach to increase the number of underrepresented and disadvantaged students in the UC system. Gerald created a high school summer camp focused on STEM and was looking for underrepresented and women scientists to participate in the camp. At the time, I was completing the research portion of my fellowship here on campus. His best friend, Betty (although I claim her equally as my best friend), decided to help with the camp and recruited me to participate.

Gerald went on to go to medical school and fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a doctor. When he matched in emergency medicine at University of Illinois Chicago, we relocated to Chicago, then as family of three. Fast forward to today—and now two kids in tow—we are excited to return to UC San Diego where it all started.

-Dr. Barbara Jung, Dean of UC San Diego School of Medicine

Water Polo and Wedding Bells

JJ and I first crossed paths in 2014, diving into the wild world of club water polo at UC San Diego. We were both team leaders and became immersed in the programs. Fast forward to the end of my senior year in 2017, and after years of secretly crushing on him from the sidelines, I finally worked up the courage to ask him out. Our first date? Burritos at the legendary Vallarta’s. We became inseparable as he wrapped up grad school and I worked for the university. In 2020, we adopted two cats—because that’s what you do when you’re in love and living in a tiny apartment near campus. Then, in 2021, he shocked me in the best way possible by proposing on top of Mount Soledad, where we went for our first Valentine’s Day.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think the guy I’d admired from afar on the water polo team would turn into my husband and best friend. We tied the knot in 2023, and since then, we've been riding the wave of career successes, new opportunities and, of course, continuing to be involved in club water polo together. For the past five years, we have coached the women’s club team side-by-side, passing on how special the club sports programs are to our lives. Our story has been a wild ride, and celebrating seven years together as a couple this year made us realize that none of this would’ve happened without UC San Diego.

-Macey Kadifa ’17

From Roommates to Ride-or-Dies

When I moved to UC San Diego, I had no idea that walking into my new apartment would lead to meeting two people who would change my life forever.

My roommate, Alis, was a stranger to me at first, but within days, we clicked. She was warm, funny and made me instantly feel like family. We quickly became inseparable, bonding over everything from late-night chats to impulsive plans to explore random Pho spots all throughout San Diego. Through Alis, I met her best friend Alexa, who was also a student at UC San Diego. Alis introduced us one night after class, and within minutes, Alexa and I were laughing like we’d known each other for years. Alexa had the same sense of humor, adventurous, and as obsessed with good food as we were—a perfect fit.

Some of our favorite memories are from late nights on campus, cruising around on scooters with no destination in mind. On other nights, we’d pile into the car for Sonic runs, craving slushies, or the UTC AMC to watch a movie we’ve never heard of. Those simple moments defined our friendship, and they’re what I treasure most. We’re all so proud to be Tritons. The shared experience of being at UC San Diego brought us together, and it’s incredible to think how different my life would be without Alis and Alexa. They’ve become my family, my biggest supporters and my partners in crime. Recently, we took a fun trip to New York City. From exploring Central Park to late nights in SoHo, every moment felt surreal, like a celebration of the bond we’ve built. UC San Diego gave me so much more than an education—it gave me Alis and Alexa, and I’ll always be grateful for that.

-Sevan Krikorian ’25

Once Upon a Library Walk

Alex and I quite literally met on Library Walk on a warm September day in 2017, leading into week 0. Alex (a fourth-year) was tabling for UC San Diego Hillel when I, a first-year, happened to walk up to learn more. I introduced myself, put my name down and went on with my day. I didn't end up going to the Hillel events Alex invited me to in the beginning of Fall Quarter. It wasn't until a few months later, in November 2017, we fully got to know each other, and the rest is history. Alex and I became the best of friends and officially started dating in February 2018. In fact, Alex set up a Valentine's Day picnic at the Torrey Pines Gliderport, which helped seal the deal for me. Alex, about to graduate, and I, only in my first year, made the most of the short months we were in college and San Diego together. Once Alex graduated, we dated all throughout my college years, while Alex was preparing to apply to medical school. Long distance was to be expected, but we are both from Los Angeles, and there was always an excuse to come down to San Diego, so it was a breeze.

When the pandemic hit in the middle of my third year, I moved back home, and we spent months quarantining together with our families. That fall, Alex moved to Norfolk, Va., for four years of medical school and matched back for residency in Los Angeles this past year. Now, we live together in Los Angeles with our cat, Allegra. I work in entertainment digital marketing and Alex is a pediatric resident. One of our favorite things to do is to go back to San Diego and visit the place we called home for years. We love to visit all our favorite San Diego spots, restaurants and walking around the UC San Diego campus. San Diego and UC San Diego hold such a special place in our hearts because this is where we developed such a beautiful relationship.

-Casey Longstreet ’21

An Instant Connection

I transferred to UC San Diego in the fall of 2023 from a community college in a town with less than 20,000 people. I never had any real/in-person connections with other students because my community college years were during the pandemic. When I came to UC San Diego, I expected not to connect to anyone because of my background and my general anti-socialness. When I joined the College Corps program on campus, my views changed. We all came together as a community to create real change in numerous San Diego neighborhoods and created a bond between fellows that feels inseparable.

One of the first people I met in the program was Ash: They were unapologetically themselves, with a humor that would leave me in tears numerous times in a day, and an unbreakable spirit. Ash is one of those people that you connect with instantly, they have a beautiful and bright radiating soul that surrounds you when they walk into a room. We have been inseparable ever since. We have enjoyed taking sociology classes together, getting drinks from Art of Espresso or chomping on a shared plate of orange chicken from Panda Express. I deeply appreciate UC San Diego for giving me the opportunity to meet such an amazing human being. My friend, my hermana, my twin.

-Alesia Andrade ’25

A Stumble into Love

When I moved into the dorms, before classes even began freshman year of college at UC San Diego, I had no idea that I was about to run into (quite literally) my future partner. My new friend, dormmate, and future maid of honor, Sarah, along with some new college friends I had met on Wilderness Orientation, got an invitation to attend a social event off campus. It was there that I saw Trevor from across the room and began to build up the courage to introduce myself later that night. However, as I was walking by (not feeling ready yet), I tripped on a crack in the pavement and ran right into his friend, Brian. They caught me from falling (in one way at least). We began talking and built an instant connection.

Though Trevor and I we weren't ready to get serious then (at only 18 and 20), we maintained friends in common and remained in each other's orbit over the next several years. I studied abroad, he graduated two years above me, and still we kept running into each other again. After we each finished graduate school, we finally decided to get serious. Before too long we got engaged, moved in together, got married, and adopted our little rescue pup, William, by 2011. Now we have a child (Joshua, 7) who attended UC San Diego's early childhood education center. So, we are all three UC San Diego alumni!

-Alison Black ’05, M.Ed. ’09, Ed.D ’16

Urey Hall to ‘I Do’

My wife Diane and I met at UC San Diego in Urey Hall in September of 1987. There was absolutely no romantic interest, but we eventually became close friends. She initially thought I was an arrogant jerk (I was). I helped her in her programming classes, and she helped me in my math classes. After graduating in 1989 (me) and 1990 (her), we reconnected, and something like scales fell from my eyes! We started dating in February 1991, I proposed in February 1992, and we were married in August 1992.

-David Ford ’89

A Walkman and a Waltz

Cory and I met on the first day of freshman year (move in day!) on the steps of Earth Hall in the old “Camp Snoopy.” I was waiting for my family to drop some things I had forgotten when he came out and sat down next to me. I was listening to my Walkman and he started talking to me, asking me about music and the bands I liked. At the time I was listening to a lot of classic rock and told him I liked Styx. He said that he loved Styx—but I was a little doubtful!

My family arrived and I got up and said goodbye. During Welcome Week we didn’t really see much of each other until the all-campus dance. I saw him standing at the top of the Price Center steps with a few of the guys from his suite. The entire dance he stayed up there, but I kept catching his eye. Toward the end of the night, he finally came down the stairs, and well, one dance was all it took, and we were inseparable for the next four years, meeting at The Rat for bagels before class, watching the sunset at La Jolla Shores, hanging out on the Hump studying, drinks at Porters.

We got engaged during our senior year. A beautiful picnic at La Jolla Shores under the tea trees during sunset (we still visit “our tree” any time we are back in San Diego). We were married in Solana Beach five months after graduation. We have been happily married for 26 years and have two amazing daughters. We’ve had many adventures and multiple cross-country moves over the years, but we will always treasure the special time in our lives when we were young kids hanging out on the front steps of Earth Hall. (And it turns out that he really did love Styx!)

-Theresa (Johnson) Mummery ’98

Study Buddies to Soulmates

During the spring quarter, as we all prepare for finals week, I did what every other Triton does to lock in: Go to Geisel, pop energy drinks and study, study, study.

However, one specific day of studying, I noticed a gorgeous young woman who was making eye contact with me frequently and was smiling here and there. I definitely felt like there was something going on between our looks, as if we were sending encrypted messages to each other despite being in a public place. We finally got the courage to speak to each other as we both went to the printer to print some pages out. We introduced ourselves to each other, and I was completely mesmerized by her stunning hazel-colored eyes.

Over the days Ariana and I began to study together and hang out during our free days. Days, weeks, and months went by and this woman that I once met at Geisel is now my soulmate and lifelong partner. She was the perfect puzzle piece that I was waiting for in life and there is nothing else that this woman is missing in the definition of perfection. We understand each other better than anything which is the most precious thing in our relationship. It is amazing knowing that I got to find the love of my life during my college years and we are getting to experience our young ages together at UC San Diego. I will never forget that Geisel is where it all began.

-Sergio Morales ’26

Love at First Bite

It was a true love story that actually started with a sandwich.

We met while working at UC San Diego Health while preparing for the new hospital, Jacobs Medical Center, set to open in November 2016. A catered steering meeting was developed for hospital construction and planning. Afterwards, Jill had kindly offered a few leftover sandwiches to team members who worked in the building. What had developed was not only hunger but sparks as well—we caught each other's eye at these lunches but maintained professional decorum.

As senior director of Food, Nutrition and Hospitality, Jill had led a recent kitchen remodel project in preparation to expand food service and accommodate the new 343-bed Jacobs Medical Center tower addition at UC San Diego Health. Her team was implementing a new patient-feeding model that was revolutionary in the hospital setting and would take patient experience to the next culinary level. As director of Business Administration for CORE Services, I had just joined UC San Diego Health for the final construction phases of the new hospital. More than 10,000 pieces of equipment were scheduled for delivery over many months, and I was part of the team working to ensure everything was delivered and installed before the hospital’s open date. Eventually, Jill sent a search party (her boss) out to investigate my story and if I was single (spoiler alert: I was). Soon after meeting, we quickly created "Pizza Friday,” which was nothing more than a disguised lunch date.

What started with many co-workers having lunch together quickly became just the two of us. Our first "official" date was at Buona Forchetta in South Park, one of our favorites to this day. From that day forward, if you needed to find me at noon, I was in the Thornton Atrium trying to make Jill laugh. We were officially engaged about a year after our first date and had already planned a destination wedding in Kauai the week after the hospital opened. We returned from Kauai as "The Martins.” Getting married was a fun surprise to share at work and a story we love telling, which continues to this day! In addition to Jacobs Medical Center, we will be celebrating our 9-year anniversary in 2025. UC San Diego Health continues to expand its network of clinics and hospitals to better serve patients and the community, and we have expanded our family with the furry additions of two cats: Gus and Leo. When not carpooling to work, we enjoy traveling the world. Scotland, Argentina and Japan are next.

-Aubrey Martin, UC San Diego Health

Launched into Love

Dennis and I first crossed paths at UC San Diego in 2015, brought together by our shared passion for rocketry through Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, a student organization dedicated to the field. As our connection deepened, Dennis cleverly signed up for my summer class, leading to a romance sparked over daily coffee study sessions. What began as a summer fling soon blossomed into something more, culminating in Dennis asking me to be his girlfriend beneath the stars atop Mount Soledad. We spent our remaining years at UC San Diego filled with love, laughter and long study sessions, with Dennis always finding me in Geisel by following the sound of my laughter. After graduation, our careers took us to different cities—I moved to Los Angeles and Dennis to the Bay Area.

The challenges of long distance only strengthened our connection until we closed the gap in 2021, moving in together. In a picturesque moment while scuba diving in La Jolla, Dennis got down on one fin and proposed. Surrounded by family, friends and our best man and woman—who we also met at UC San Diego—we tied the knot. I work as a Senior Engineer at SpaceX, while Dennis works as an Engineering Manager at Freeform, specializing in metal 3D printing. Despite coming from opposite ends of the world, we have built a home together in Rancho Palos Verdes, where we now live with our two kittens, Noodle and Mochi. Now 10 years after meeting at UC San Diego, our journey continues, marked by love, shared dreams and the stars that first brought us together.

-Deenah Sanchez ’17

Triton Love Runs in the Family

My parents, Jenifer and Michael, met their sophomore year at UC San Diego in 1989. My dad asked my mom out on the Muir tennis courts when they happened to both be taking tennis lessons. They had their first date at Burger King in Price Center. They graduated in 1992, went to grad school and got married in 1995. They had three kids—I am the oldest.

I became a Triton in 2019 and met my now-boyfriend in 2020. We’ve been together for four years now. Trevor graduated in 2022 and I graduated in 2023. Now, I am a first-year medical student at UC San Diego School of Medicine. It was so special to walk around the campus that my parents fell in love in. I always pictured them in Peterson Hall taking classes together or studying together in Geisel. I am so lucky to have stayed here for medical school, as I get to keep experiencing how amazing UC San Diego is, and to give my parents an excuse to visit the campus many times a year. It’s crazy that I met my boyfriend at UC San Diego at the same age my parents met, and I can only hope my Triton love story will be as beautiful as my parents’ has been.

-Emma Jacobs ’23