It was a typical snowy winter at Cornell University in 2010, when Damien’s fraternity big brother (Brian Lo) introduced Damien to Jess during their freshman year. “Hey, this is my little brother, Damien.” A few weeks later, he reintroduced them again at the salad line at Statler Hall. 

While the two crossed paths intermittently over the years, they did not connect more deeply until the spring of their senior year, just a few months before graduation. It was over buffalo chicken pizza at the quintessential late-night pizza joint, Collegetown Pizza, where Damien invited Jess to a fraternity party the next night (that may or may not have involved jello and/or wrestling).

Over the next two months, Damien pursued Jess and eventually won her over. The tipping point for Jess occurred at Pixel (if you know, you know), where they managed to have a deeply meaningful conversation on shared values and relationship goals while yelling at one another over the blaring dance music.