Elise and Markus met in the fall of 2019 as freshmen at the University of St. Thomas. Both chemistry majors, they were lab partners in Dr. Borgerding's General Chemistry class several times over the semester. They had several more chance encounters over the next two years through group study sessions and other shared classes.

In the spring of 2022, Elise arrived early for Quantum Mechanics and chose a seat in the second row. Markus strolled in exactly on time and, luckily, a classmate had saved Markus a seat in the front row, which was right in front of Elise. This was the last of their chance encounters, with Elise and Markus slowly but surely getting to know each other between harmonic oscillators, quantum tunneling, and molecular orbital theory in class. Markus asked Elise out for coffee right after the semester ended. This began a continuing tradition of Friday coffee dates at the Dunn Brothers in Eagan (right down the road from the wedding ceremony!). They began officially dating in July of 2022, with the entirety of their senior year a happy blur. They shared a final chemistry class in the spring of 2023, completing a group capstone project together, investigating heavy metals in the soil in St. Paul.

They then graduated in May, with Markus also commissioning into the Air Force after participating in ROTC during college. With a move to Salt Lake City, courtesy of the Air Force, on the horizon, they spent the summer galivanting around Minnesota and Wisconsin. Markus began designing an engagement ring in August. In mid-September, they packed up all their essentials and drove out to Utah, starting the next chapter of their life together. Elise began a job at Myriad Genetics, and Markus entered active-duty at Hill Air Force Base. Finally, Markus proposed on a beautiful (and rather challenging) hike on Antelope Island in November, with Elise quickly saying "Yes!!!!!"

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