Derrick and Lauren’s story started when Lauren went away to college in 2019. Rumor has it Derrick had noticed Lauren from afar for some time, or at least from cross court (the tennis court). From the very beginning, Derrick only had eyes for Lauren. The first time Derrick met Lauren was as her tennis partner at practice with the men's team. It was not until the teams traveled together to their first away match that Derrick built up the courage to not only talk to Lauren, but find optimal seating with her on the bus, and manage to get her number for “tennis practice”. Lauren was onto him, and was struck by not only his persistence, but his attentiveness. Lauren recognized these qualities can be hard to find, especially a man who wore his faith in God on his sleeve. Lauren did not want to date first semester at college, so Derrick went into the semi-friendzone. For now, Lauren had found a new friend.

Their first date was ice skating, and before she knew it, Lauren found herself falling over and over (literally). Derrick and Lauren found themselves in a long-distance relationship for over 5 years, traveling between Hamburg/Reading and Mechanicsburg. In September 2024, Lauren and Derrick found themselves in the Outer Banks. Derrick had planned many romantic activities, jet skis, horse-back riding, kite flying on the dunes, and drives all along the coast. On the last day, Derrick maintained a strong cover story, making her think everything was impromptu. In a true romantic fashion, Derrick scheduled a special dinner stop that led to a walk out onto the pier at sunset (on Ocracoke Island), where Derrick finally proposed. To celebrate, we ended up at the Cape Henry Lighthouse to end our trip, I guess his plan worked! Just like that, the rest is history!