Catie and Connor met at Mount St. Mary's University in August of 2020 when Catie was a new coach for the cross country and track & field teams and Connor was a new athletic trainer for those teams. They got to know each other quickly due to natural interactions about their athletes. A few months after beginning as coworkers, they became friends through time spent with mutual friend groups. They spent increasing time together by going on hikes, hanging out while traveling for their track meets, and watching the Steeler games and cooking together on the weekends. It was the easiest and fastest growing friendship they ever had - but also one that slowly blossomed into the greatest love they've ever experienced.

Amidst spending so much time together, it wasn't until the beginning of 2022 that Catie and Connor officially began to date due to a friend asking them both over the phone, "so are you guys dating now or what?" They both casually looked at each other and just nodded and said "yeah, I guess we are."

Soon after making things official, Connor got a new job at Moravian University and was moving to Bethlehem, PA - 2.5 hours away from Mount St. Mary's. After agreeing that they were both going to put in the effort to make things work, for the next year, they visited each other on the weekends whenever their schedules allowed it. Even though they no longer saw each other very often, their relationship only grew as more of their time together was spent with each other's family and friends. They, along with their family and friends, became integral part of each other's lives.

In the summer of 2023, Catie started a new job at Gwynedd Mercy University and moved to Ambler, PA where she was now less than an hour away from Connor - making the distance a lot easier on their relationship. They've had so many memories during their almost 5 years of knowing one another and 3 years of dating, but some of their favorites include: hiking, concerts, hitting up local breweries, day beach trips, spending time with each others' families, and even going to Hawaii.

On Sunday, October 20th, 2024, Connor and Catie went back to Mount St. Mary's for the weekend to visit some friends. It was the first time they were able to visit Emmitsburg since Catie moved in 2023. They went to mass at the chapel at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes behind Mount St. Mary's campus. Coincidentally, they were asked to bring up the gifts during mass which they both laughed at since they were chosen out of so many other people who attended. After mass, they took a walk through the grotto and to Catie's complete surprise and excitement, Connor got down on one knee and proposed. It was the easiest and most emotional "yes" of her life.

On July 11th of this summer, Catie and Connor are taking it back to where it all began, and getting married in the Immaculate Conception Chapel on Mount St. Mary's University's campus. They could not be more excited to be getting married at the the place where they first met, and the place where their friendship and love story all began.