Alex and Nicole first met when Alex moved into a townhome directly across from Nicole, on a street called Sheliah Court. Nicole had just gotten back from getting groceries and was greeted with new neighbors while she was unpacking her car in her driveway. Alex introduced himself, but did not say too much… A few nights later, they ran into one another at a favorite local watering hole called Top of the Stairs, also known as TOTS. Alex and Nicole would continue to hang out with one another, along with all of the neighbors, at the Blacksburg summer staples like the Summer Solstice festival and Wine Wednesday at Boudreaux's. It ultimately took a lot for Alex to work himself up to finally ask Nicole out on a date (and there was even a prior canceled date), where they shared one of their favorite meals together… sushi. The night ended at one of their favorite restaurants/bars in Blacksburg, The Cellar, where they talked the night away and Alex put Nicole through a series of 100 questions.

The early stages of their dating was anything but conventional. Shortly after they began dating, Alex suffered through 6 months of medical board examination preparation. This tested not only the patience of Alex, but also Nicole… As if trying to survive Alex’s board prep was enough for the two young lovebirds, Nicole then began preparing for her doctoral qualifying exam where she remembers spending copious amounts of time laying on the floor staring at the ceiling. And the cherry on top was when Alex found out he matched to do his clinical rotations in Abingdon, Virginia instead of the Blacksburg area. This ultimately resulted in Alex moving from Blacksburg to Abingdon about one and a half hours away.

A short novel would be required to share all of the challenges and milestones that occurred from that point on, but in summary…

Alex and Nicole did “long” distance from Blacksburg to Abingdon. They would appreciate Abingdon for its proximity to The Creeper Trail, a serene bike trail nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains.

Somewhere in this time period they thought it would be a good idea to add a dog to the mix and ended up with their beloved Peri.

Nicole defended her dissertation and took off to Greenville, NC where she would start a faculty position at East Carolina University. Due to Nicole’s move, Alex convinced his medical school to allow him to move to Fayetteville, NC for his last year.

One day when Nicole was visiting Alex in Fayetteville, they drove to a nature trail where they would take a walk and leave their phones in the car. When they got back to the car to look at their phones, everything changed. Due to COVID, Alex would finish the rest of medical school remotely. They packed up his belongings in Fayetteville and headed back to Greenville, NC the next day.

Alex would eventually match into an orthopaedic surgery residency in Columbus, Ohio. This would result in Alex and Nicole doing long distance between Greenville and Columbus. Nicole was understandably reluctant to pick up and move to Ohio, but one benefit of COVID would allow Nicole to work remotely and spend ample time in Ohio with Alex. As Covid lockdown began to subside, Nicole and Alex were finally able to take a much needed VACATION to Mexico, and Alex thought this would be the right time to propose. Along a (smelly) seaweed beach in Cancun Mexico, nearly missing the sunset because Nicole was taking too long to get ready…, he popped the question.

Eventually, the stars aligned and Nicole accepted a job at The Ohio State University to join Alex in Columbus where they have been enjoying “suburbia in the city” life.

Alex and Nicole not only conquered early challenges in the beginning of the relationship, but continue to conquer them each day as Alex continues residency and seeks out a sports fellowship, Nicole navigates professor life at one of the largest Land-Grant universities in the U.S., all while being away from family and friends.

They look forward to tackling these challenges as husband and wife!