Two passionate, justice-minded (and cute), fun-loving people, Katherine and Max met on day two of orientation at Santa Clara University School of Law. Katherine was the only one in the classroom, sitting in the middle of the front row, when Max walked in. He sat down a few seats away from her and they struck up a conversation. Max later said he thought it would be rude not to sit near and talk to the only other person in the room at the time. Katherine thinks he might have done that anyway if the person in the room hadn't been a beautiful woman. Max thinks she's nuts.

After that first conversation, Katherine knew she wanted to get to know Max better. She chose a seat directly next to him during the first week of class, guaranteeing she'd have the semester to strike up casual conversations in between classes. A few days later, Katherine and Max made plans to study together on their day off. On Friday afternoon, they met in the library to study, but quickly moved to the outdoor patio so they could talk more freely. After three hours of conversation and no studying, they saw in each other potential for something more than classmates. They planned to hike together two days later.

When Sunday came around, the hike led to a taco lunch, which was followed by coffee, finally some studying, a swim in the pool, grocery shopping, and cooking dinner together. They haven't left each other's side since.

Five years later, and many many study dates, tacos, and coffees later, Katherine and Max got engaged, during a hike of course, with tears in their eyes and love in their hearts on one of their most favorite trails near their home in Livermore, California.