With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we can’t help but think about all those lucky couples who have found their other half at school. This day, we honor you. We honor the sacrifices and long study nights that college couples have to go through together. Thank you for reminding us that being on campus does not have to mean eating alone while watching Netflix. It can also mean seeing the person you love the most between classes.
Miranda Savage, who graduated with a master’s of education in counseling, and Samuel Vallejo, a business administration senior, met three years ago on campus and it changed their lives.
“I think it all started with a Stevie Ray song,” Vallejo said. “You [Savage] approached me and I was acting all cool.”
Savage said she heard Vallejo listening to a song she liked and approached him to express their mutual interests in music.
“I heard you were listening to it, [but] you had never even heard the song. It was your first time hearing it,” Savage told Vallejo between laughs.
She said Vallejo kept asking her out for six months, and she constantly would say no until he invited her to a barbecue, where there were going to be a lot of people.
“So, I agreed to that,” Savage said. “[He] made super good cheeseburgers, super good with Philadelphia [cream] cheese.”
Vallejo and Savage have been dating officially for five months, and according to her, the way he asked her out was the most romantic thing.
“When [he] asked me out, of course, [he] planned it out really nicely,” she said. “[He] had written with chocolate, ‘Would you go out with me?’ and the whole restaurant was in on it and I don’t even know [how] they snuck [the plate] by me. I did not expect that at all.”
Vallejo said the manager of the restaurant was distracting Savage on purpose so he could see the dessert and decide if the amount of chocolate and ice cream was good enough.
“I would say that the most romantic thing you did for me, which was really cute and I enjoyed for days because it was food, when you sent me this chocolate-covered fruit basket to work,” he said. “And I remember the basket got there and I was just sitting on my desk and everyone was just, like, ‘Who is this for?’ and then we opened the card and it was for me. Oh, my god, I even feel [my face] red
right now.”
Their plans for the future are to keep supporting each other to achieve their goals.
Cailey Granado, an exercise science junior, and Elijah Lopez, a former UTRGV student with a bachelor’s in exercise science, met at their major’s club last year.
“It was very convenient because we would study together,” Granado said. “Our schedules actually worked, so we would have class at
the same time and we would meet up before and after [class]. We would either go get lunch or just hang out and study together.”
Lopez said he also liked going to the same school as his girlfriend because they share a lot of common interests.
“It was ideal, especially because we had the same major, so that also presented a lot of common talking points, interests and what not,” he said. “Now that I graduated, we still have the same common interests. I still have that background, I still have that knowledge for the classes she is taking now.”
Granado said the most romantic thing he has done for her was driving in a hurry to Chick-fil-A for her favorite sauce.
“Actually, we were just friends, but we had gone out on a date. … We were having our Exercise Science Club [meeting] and we had Chick-fil-A, but no one brought any sauces, so he took it upon himself and, before attending the event, he drove to Chick-fil-A to pick up my favorite sauce,” she said with a laugh. “I was the only one with sauce that day.”
Lopez said the best advice he could give to other couples is to look through the eyes of understanding, rather than judgment or anger.
“Obviously, we are humans and we are going to feel that, but at the same time, you can overcome that by giving yourself a little bit of time,”
he said.
Their plans after graduation are to stay together while she goes to graduate school and he focuses on creating music.
Aram Flores, a computer science junior, and Jocell Rodriguez, a biology junior, have been dating for five years, since they were sophomores in high school.
“What I like about him is that he can always make me laugh in any situation,” Rodriguez said. “[Also], he is very smart in math and sciences. If I have trouble with physics, he is my go-to.”
Flores said what he likes the most about Rodriguez is how she makes him smile a lot.
“She is very cute, overall,” he said.
The most romantic thing they have experienced is when Rodriguez kept a diary for Flores because he was on vacation for two months.
“I would write every day what I did and how I felt,” she said. “I also added the photos he would send me.”
Rodriguez said she loves going to the same school as her boyfriend because he makes her feel safe.
“I am never alone,” she said. “I can always depend on the fact that I am going to be safe because my boyfriend is there.”
They both said their plans after graduation are to get married.
