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Dan and Melissa first met more than 10 years ago when they were students at Eastern. Dan majored in communication and Melissa majored in English, but it was a shared class in Renaissance literature that broke the ice and made them acquaintances. They went separate ways after graduating, only to reunite at their all-time favorite restaurant, Willi Brew, six years later in 2018, when their relationship officially kicked off.
During another visit to Willimantic in 2021, they took a walk around campus. Melissa recalls Dan being suspiciously quiet during the drive. “He was so nervous, so I kind of knew what was up,” she said. When they reached the water fountain in front of the Student Center, Dan kneeled and proposed. “He told me that’s where he remembered first seeing me and that it felt right to go back to where it all began, to a place that is so special to us.”
Melissa’s time at Eastern was special because, in addition to meeting her future husband, it was also the place where she made lifelong friends, gained independence and felt at home. For Dan, his time at Eastern was “nothing short of amazing.” From the first days of orientation until the day he graduated, Eastern felt like home, and everyone who attended and worked there felt like family. Not only did it connect him with Melissa, but also to an incredible group of friends that he will cherish forever.
On Oct. 29, 2022, they had a beautiful, rustic New England fall wedding beside family and friends, and spent their honeymoon in New Hampshire. They look forward to attending music festivals and traveling to the Pacific Northwest in their near-future adventures.
Dan is currently employed with a marketing company that he loves and Melissa is back home at Eastern, working as a counselor in the Office of Financial Aid. In love with the unique and rural southeastern part of Connecticut, they recently bought a house in the area, where they spend each day as best friends, partners and the proud parents of two very chunky pups.
