Eric and Riley participated in the choir at Westside Baptist Church and spent most Wednesday nights in college with their church family which always ended with tacos at the local Moe’s. One spring night when Eric was driving Riley to rehearsal, he made the joking comment of, “Would you ever go out on a date with me?”, to which Riley responded, “Well, you’ve never asked…”

That response got Eric thinking and he decided to ask Riley out to dinner. After a few dates filled with butterflies, excitement, and their friendship they had built over the last 4 years, they decided to enter a relationship with each other.

Riley had already committed to the Orlando Campus for UF Pharmacy so only a few weeks after starting to date, she moved back down to Orlando while Eric remained in Gainesville. The next year and a half’s time was spent driving back and forth between Orlando and Gainesville as Eric and Riley’s love continued to grow. In between finishing degrees in Gainesville and starting new ones in Orlando, Eric would come down to visit for events with Riley’s new pharmacy friends, while Riley would come up for a Gator game or a Sunday lunch after church.

In December of 2018, Eric graduated from UF and was able to make the move to Orlando where he began his career with Balfour Beatty. Although Riley was busy with a doctorate program, they still found the time to finally enjoy living in the same city as each other. Whether it was dinner, bowling, movies, or Riley reading pharmacology notes to Eric on the couch, they were happy to be able to grow closer together in life.

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