I met Miranda during our first week at Stanford during a conference. She was sitting by herself on the bus, so I decided to sit next to her and get to know her better. That fateful decision spawned 5 years of a wonderful relationship, including 3 years of long distance trips between the East and West Coast. Miranda has had a profound influence on my life, from our adventures in hiking, Netflix, and fluid mechanics, to the adoption of our cat Tapioca. I admire her drive, her levelheadedness, and her humor, as she never fails to brighten up my day. I feel blessed to spend the rest of my life with her, and I'm so happy I sat next to her on the bus that day.

-Ben

Ben and I met during my first week at Stanford, when he sat down next to me on the bus after a long week of networking and wouldn't go away. Since then, Ben's proven to be genuine, caring, and respectful of others' personal space. We quickly bonded over board games and climbing and a mutual love of cats, and when I finished with grad school a year later, I couldn't picture leaving him. Thankfully, I was able to get a position in the area for a year and stay close. We've been long distance much of the time since then; we've flown back and forth across the country from San Jose to Pittsburgh, DC to San Francisco, and finally both out to Amarillo, TX, where we were reunited last fall. I'm excited to get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. He's pretty cute.

-Miranda