Ava Campbell and Nathan Bigham met in late August 2022 on their first Sunday back at Pepperdine University for the start of their respective sophomore and junior years. We met at a welcome-back church potluck meal at the on-campus University Church of Christ, a rock and anchoring community for us throughout our college years. Introduced by a mutual friend, Phillip Young, we felt an instant spark over lunch and we went on our first date - the classic Pepperdine "hike to the cross" - three days later. We fell in love that Fall of 2022 over more hikes, concerts, date nights in the city, and mornings at church.

2023 brought new experiences and, for the first time, multiple months apart. Ava embarked on two separate trips to Europe for study abroad and choir, while Nathan spent extra time in Malibu and then two lifechanging weeks in Kenya. Our July reunion in Nashville after three and a half months apart was emotional and affirmed our love could not be diminished by long distance.

Senior year brought the stress of honors research for Ava and MCAT preparation for Nathan, yet we continued to make our relationship our number one priority. 2023 turned into 2024 with new experiences on the horizon such as a mutual gap year and moving to Nashville. In this new season, we got engaged on June 8 - National Best Friend's Day - and cannot wait to be married! Thank you for helping us celebrate our relationship so far, and helping us ring in our future of forever.