Our story starts at Stony Brook University in 2009! We crossed paths a few times but didn't knew each other until 2013 when we started applying for grad school. By chance we decided to attend the same small program at the same school, The University of Vermont. We should have known this was a sign - two city kids from a college of over 20k students both attending a selective graduate program that recruits from around the country with only 15 students per year. What are the odds?! We packed our bags and moved to the great white north to live among cows, breweries, and mountains. We became fast friends in grad school. Things were tough, and that brought us closer together as we got through many challenges. Our friendship turned into an even closer bond, we were inseparable as we started to date in October 2014. Two songs lyrics really speak to us - Ed Sheeran: "we found love right where we are" and Rihanna: "we found love in a hopeless place" - We loved our time in Vermont, despite it sometimes feeling hopeless, and we fell in love without ever expecting to during grad school. Our biggest relationship challenge came after graduation - Nakiya moved to Ohio for her first full time job and Bobby moved to Connecticut for his. Luckily, we were able to see each other about once a month and maintain a long-distance relationship through some really terrible regional airports. Nakiya got a new job about a year later and moved to Rhode Island - bringing us much closer together with only an hour drive between us. After two years in New England, we both made our way back to where it all started - Stony Brook! We moved to Long Island in 2018 to be closer to family and FINALLY live together. Less then a year later on Valentines Day 2019, Bobby popped the question while watching the sun set in the snowy town that brought them together, Burlington, VT. Our journey has been filled with so much love from family, friends, and mentors, and there is so much more to come!