We met in the fall of 2015 as incoming sophomores at Providence College. We were both on campus early and met as part of our training to be peer tutors in the Office of Academic Services. That first week, we were paired up to be partners in a team-building “Dizzy-Bat” competition with all of the tutors. Though no surprise of anyone who knows him, Aiden demonstrated his fierce competitiveness, and our team ended up winning the tournament. [It should be noted that through his own admission, the blindfolds we used for the game were not completely blinding, and he was able to use some semblance of sight to win the game.] Despite seeing this competitive side so early, Alex was somehow not scared away.

A couple months passed of us seeing each other in passing, exchanging pleasant and enthusiastic “hello’s”. Once, we both were conveniently leaving the library at the same time and accompanied each other on the long walk to our dorms at the other side of campus. In October of that year, after the Midnight Madness Basketball Pep Rally, we ran into each other, walked back to our dorms together, and finally exchanged numbers. A week later, we met up while out for Halloween and spent time enjoying the college festivities. This is when our relationship really began as we started talking constantly and had our first date a couple weeks later at The Federal Taphouse in Providence.

Years of formal dances, dates, rugby games and more together, and we have grown closer year by year. During our junior year, Aiden visited Alex in London and toured the city together for a week (with a short trip to Dublin, taking advantage of 35$ Ryan Air flights). We graduated together in 2018, both achieving the highest honors of Summa Cum Laude from Providence College. We both then uprooted from MA and moved to NYC/Hoboken to begin our careers with FactSet and Prudential respectively. After our 3-year adventure living in the New York area (Including 3 months apart during the height of the pandemic), we returned home and settled in Newton, MA where we have lived since July 2021. It was one short month later, that Aiden surprised Alex with a sunset walk on the beach at Rock Harbor on Cape Cod, and despite Alex initially thinking this was a practical joke, Alex said yes to being partners for life.