In February 2015, Caitlin and Joel flew to Beijing for a study abroad program. They were assigned to be neighbors in the international student dorm. They met on the first day of the program on a field trip to Tiananmen Square. They bonded quickly and became travel partners, visiting Tokyo and Hong Kong together, as well as the cities of Guilin, Tianjin, Nanjing, Luoyang, and Anyang within China.

After returning from China, Joel started work in Chicago while Caitlin completed her senior year at Notre Dame. The year was full of trips between Chicago and South Bend, with a few "flex travel" trips to Joel's client site in Mason, MI. After graduation, Caitlin and Joel traveled to Spain and Portugal to celebrate.

After graduation, Caitlin moved to Chicago. Joel and Caitlin spent three years in Chicago exploring the various neighborhoods and making many memories together. These three years were full of travel as they took weekend trips to New York, Toronto, London, and Denver. They also took several extended trips to Peru, Argentina, Mexico City, Australia, and Italy.

In 2019, Joel and Caitlin moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where Joel would return to the classroom. While there, they've enjoyed the easy access to beautiful hiking and scenic views. For the first year in Charlottesville, Caitlin was traveling weekly to New York for work and greatly appreciated only having a short 45 minute flight each week.

After 5 years together, during a trip to California, Joel planned a special day of hiking and eating just for the two of them. On July 18, 2020, Joel proposed to Caitlin at the peak of Slacker's Hill, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.