Big Green Love Stories: 2023 Edition
15 minute read
Zee LaFon
15 minute read
Laurel Semprebon Marinho ’22 and Gui Marinho ’22
My partner, Gui Marinho, and I got engaged at homecoming this year! We are both ’22s who met freshman winter through marching band.
See the moment as it was captured on Instagram.
Nicole (Smith) Clark ’89 and David Clark ’90
Nicole (Smith) Clark ’89 and I (David Clark ’90) have enjoyed our life together since 1988. We have been married 31 years and have three thriving adult daughters: Amber, 28; Autumn, 25; and Ashleigh, 22. We have lived and enjoyed a blessed life in South Florida, as educators, working in independent schools, supporting students and teachers in our career. We recognize that Dartmouth was the place that gave us this opportunity. We are excited for what the future holds and hope that the College on the Hill will offer the same to others in the future.
Rachel Byrne ’93 and Greg Tamkin ’91
How we met: I was a sophomore UGA and he was a senior AC living in the River. I thought he was a bit obnoxious and was monitoring me too closely as a UGA (he thought I was a baby sophomore who needed guidance). But being as we were on the same floor AND in the River, we had to get along and eventually started dating!
Favorite memory: Our first real date at Simon Pearce, walking around or skating on Occom Pond, fraternity/sorority formals, doing a Ben & Jerry's tour, watching Thursday night "must-see-TV" with friends.
Today: We live in Denver. Greg is an attorney with Dorsey and Whitney. I am a physician assistant at the University of Colorado and practice psychiatry and addiction medicine. Most important, we have a daughter who is a ’23 and a son who is a ’26! Our daughter Danielle is double majoring in engineering-physics and Romance languages (we LOVE liberal arts in this family). Our son Nathan is interested in engineering and government.
KJ Ward ’94 and Randy Akee ’94
How we met: I’m pretty sure it was the AAm-NAD volleyball event at the old NAD House during Sophomore Summer.
Favorite memory: Our first date at Murphy’s Tavern
Today: Randy is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and American Indian Studies at UCLA (currently on leave and serving as Senior Economist, Council of Economic Advisers at the White House. I think of myself as a social entrepreneur who moonlights as a contract Communications Specialist with the German Office of McKinsey & Company.
Phyllis Steinberg Fagell ’95 and Steve Fagell ’95
How we met: We are both from Massachusetts and met in the parking lot just before we left for First-Year Trips. Steve came over to say hello because he recognized my mother from a local event for admitted students that they both attended. We weren’t on the same trip; I was hiking and he was canoeing, but we reconnected on campus. (As an aside, I got lost in the woods on that trip!)
Favorite memories: We were close friends our first year and started dating sophomore year after the “Fall Fling” a capella concert in 1992, which seems fitting. We loved to meet up at the now-defunct Peter Christian’s Tavern or for tea at Sanborn House, and we took a lot of walks around Rip Road and Occom Pond. We went on the same Budapest FSP to study government, history, and economics.
Today: Steve is a lawyer at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., where he co-chairs the firm’s white collar criminal defense practice, and I’m a school counselor, therapist, and the author of the books Middle School Matters and Middle School Superpowers, Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times. We have three children, including two who currently attend Dartmouth (Ben is a ’24 and Emily is a ’25), so we’ve gotten up to Hanover more often lately! Our youngest son, Alex, is 14.
Elisabeth Smith Parrott ’95 and Rob Parrott ’96
How we met: My husband and I met at a contra dance at the Lyme Congregational Church in January 1994. I thought he was a maple syrup farmer and was shocked to see him in my neighbor’s common room a few weeks later.
Favorite memory: We had a great first date at Peter Christian’s and the Nugget.
Today: We’ve been married since 1999 and have 2 kids.
Rory McGee Richards ’97 and Matthew Richards ’97
How we met: We met Freshman Fall when I was the coxswain for the men’s heavyweight rowing team, and he was the stroke of the men’s freshman 8.
Favorite memory: We started dating after traveling by bus to Yale for a fall race. We didn’t tell anyone for a couple of months because we didn’t want it to affect the team… when we told them, everyone was very sweet and supportive.
Today: We are still very close to most of that freshman boat, many of whom were at our wedding, including our best man, James Jarrett ’97. We dated all 4 years of Undergrad, long distance for a year while Matt did his BE at Thayer, and then for 2 years after Dartmouth before getting married in 2001. This fall is the 30th anniversary of what we consider our first “date”—that Yale race.
Shakari Byerly ’96 and Rodrego Byerly ’98
How we met: Rodrego and I met at Dartmouth, but didn't become a couple until 14 years later, when he moved to Los Angeles—my hometown. I was deciding between grad school at Columbia (where he was in New York) when he was moving to LA. I decided to stay local and attend UCLA instead, which led to us reconnecting… and the rest is history.
Today: We could have easily missed one another, but as fate would have it, the stars aligned and here we are nearly 18 years later. We will celebrate our 18th anniversary on May 19!
Lara Hoffman ’98 and Nishad Chande ’97
How we met: My husband Nishad Chande and I met walking across the Green around midnight one snowy night!
Today: Now we’ve been together for 26 years and have 2 kids.
Genevieve Jacobs Simermeyer ’98 and Sequoyah Simermeyer ’97
How we met: We met at a student event when I was visiting campus for the Native American student fly-in during my senior year of high school (he was a freshman). We started dating in the fall of 1996 and got married in 2003.
Today: We will celebrate our 20-year anniversary this August!
Lauren Goody ’99 and Michael Goody ’98
How we met: Our first meeting was in the fall of 1995, outside the Choates dorms. Lauren was a freshman living on the first floor of Brown dormitory and was friendly with Jared Abbey ’98 (who lived on the same floor) as Jared and Lauren were from the same hometown and attended the same high school. Jared was pledging AXA fraternity and had befriended Michael, also a pledge at AXA. Given the Brown dorm’s proximity to Webster Avenue, Jared’s fraternity brothers would frequently stop by his room. Jared introduced Michael to Lauren. We were friends first and started dating in the fall of 1997. Michael graduated in 1998 and we dated long distance until Lauren graduated in June 1999. We both lived in NYC after Lauren graduated. We dated through the summer of 2001 and then broke up for a year. Jared’s role in their relationship didn’t end there. Jared married his Dartmouth sweetheart, Jennifer Greene ’98, in August 2002. Michael was a groomsman in Jared’s wedding and taking a chance, invited Lauren to be his date. We rekindled our romance that weekend, and Jared was a groomsman at Michael and Lauren’s wedding in August 2004.
Favorite memories: Our first date at Peter Christian’s Tavern on Main Street; enjoying dinner at La Poule a Dents, a quaint French restaurant in Norwich, VT; attending each other’s fraternity/ sorority formals (I was a KDE); playing golf together at Hanover Country Club.
Today: We live in Palo Alto, CA with our two teenage children, Amanda, 14; and Greg, 13. We moved to California from NYC in 2014 to pursue new career opportunities as well as a change of pace. I have been working in marketing across a few different industries since graduating from Dartmouth with a BA in English Literature. Michael is stock analyst, managing an investment portfolio via his own firm, Sodium Advisors. He has been working in finance since graduating from Dartmouth with a BA in Economics.
Susan Napier Berger ’04 and Alex Berger ’02
How we met: We met in Hanover the summer before I matriculated. We were both on the Dartmouth debate team and I worked at the Dartmouth Debate Institute the summer of 2000 as a camp counselor for high schoolers. Alex was on campus for his Sophomore Summer and would visit his friends working at the Institute. Mutual friends introduced us that summer, and we became fast friends from our first meeting. We officially started dating the following Spring, my freshmen year and Alex's junior year. Our relationship was a poorly kept secret on the debate team but in short order everyone knew.
And then: Alex and I separated when he graduated but remained close friends. We reunited as a couple when I graduated and dated long distance for 2-1/2 years. Alex moved to LA to become a screenwriter and I stayed on the East Coast and worked in finance. I suppose we are creatures of habit because not only did we continue to date, but we also have continued in the same careers.
Favorite memories: Watching a screening of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the Hop, eating Hop fries, working together at the Dartmouth Forensic Union, driving to West Lebanon to see a movie in an actual movie theater. One of our favorite memories, though, was the surprise birthday party Alex and his roommates threw for my 19th birthday at their house.
Today: We will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this year. We have three children: Gracie, 8; Jacob, 7; and James, 4. We live in LA and we are still close to many Dartmouth friends, including our former debate teammates (all of Alex's groomsmen were debaters).
Megan Riley Kenney ’03 and Matt Kenney ’04
How we met: We were set up on a blind date for my AZD sophomore 01S formal by Meredith (Schwartz) Beuchaw. I was skeptical but agreed because Mer wanted me to go to the formal. I told my friends the next day that I was going to marry that boy.
Today: We survived 3 years of long distance while I completed law school. 22 years later we’ve been married for almost 17 years and live in Washington, DC with our two children.
Ashley Henry-Musser ’07 and Thomas Musser ’05
How we met: We were acquaintances at Dartmouth, and reconnected when I moved to Boston in 2010. We married in 2014 and had many Dartmouth alumni in our wedding.
Today: We’ve been happily married for eight years and welcomed the joy of our world, Eleanor, in May 2021.
Lauren LaDolcetta Nelson ’10 and Sean Nelson ’09
How we met: We met at Dartmouth in 2006. He was the first person I met and he gave me a tour around campus on my very first day. We were both on the track and field team together. My experience at Dartmouth would not have been the same without him by my side.
And then: After Dartmouth, we lived in NY. Sean worked in private equity at KKR and I pursued a career in marketing. We got married in 2015 with many of our friends/teammates from Dartmouth. We had a Dartmouth-themed cake for the groom’s cake.
Today: We now live in Georgia and have two boys, Blake, 4; and Logan, 2. There isn’t a day that goes by where we aren’t thankful for Dartmouth and all the wonderful memories we have and continue to have with the amazing people we met along the way.
Don Casler ’14 and Taylor Malmsheimer ’15
How we met: While working as editors for The Dartmouth. Don was editing the Opinion section and Taylor was editing the Sports section. Sparks flew in Robo (Robinson Hall)!
Favorite memories: We loved exploring the greater outdoors in Hanover—hiking, swimming in the river, and leading DOC trips. One of our favorite memories together is dancing at the old lodge during a spring formal and waking up the next morning to amazing Moosilauke breakfast!
Today: We got married this past August and recently moved to Boston after 8 years in NYC. We’re moving to Champaign-Urbana this summer since Don will be starting a new job as a professor at the University of Illinois. We’re excited to explore the Midwest!
Abiah Pritchard ’17 MD ’22 and Michael Zhu ’14
How we met: Our paths never crossed in undergrad (which we consider to be a good thing): Abiah spent most of her time studying in Sanborn or going on hikes, bike rides, or other adventures with the triathlon team; Mike could more typically be found in the AXA basement, in the Hop with the Cords, or truly anywhere other than the library. We met during the summer of 2016 when Abiah was in Boston for a summer internship and Mike was living in Boston full-time. When Abiah went back to Hanover that fall, Mike visited almost every weekend. We had a great time hiking (Cardigan and the Whites), trying restaurants and breweries throughout the area, and, admittedly, spending some time in fraternity basements.
And then: We got engaged in 2019 and, after a Covid delay, finally got married this past spring. Our wedding included nearly 70 Dartmouth alums, Dartmouth-style a capella, and some DOC Trips choreography on the dance floor.
Today: We are living in Boston with our dog, Franklin. Mike is a senior manager at Bain & Company, and Abiah is in her medical residency at Beth Israel.
Blake Osborn Russell ’15 and Wills Russell ’15
How we met: I was visiting campus while interning in Boston. We met during 14W through a mutual friend in the SAE basement and connected over our shared love of Macallan. Despite my unremarkable pong performance, he decided he liked me enough to walk around campus to try to see the northern lights. We talked for hours and agreed to meet up again the following day. We spent the rest of our Dartmouth tenure exploring the Upper Valley, taking intro to snowboarding for our PE credits, and enjoying all campus had to offer.
And then: After graduation, I got a job in Boston and he got an offer in NY, but both companies had satellite offices in San Francisco. We had never even visited but took a leap of faith and moved to California after graduation. Dartmouth further instilled our love of nature, so naturally he proposed on a hike in Big Sur in 2019 and we eloped on a cliff in South Lake Tahoe in 2020 when our more traditional wedding plans were derailed by the pandemic.
Today: We still live in San Francisco with our dog Ferris and spend as many weekends as possible exploring the outdoors. I am so thankful for Dartmouth for bringing us together. Nine years together and I still can’t believe I got this lucky ??.
Bryan Armenta ’15 TH’16, Linda Attanasio ’17
How we met: Linda and I met at Dartmouth in Spring 2013 and were dating by Winter 2014! I had finally gotten the courage to ask her out after randomly seeing her and spending 1 hour talking to her at Novak Cafe at midnight while visiting to get a late-night snack.
Today: We've dated for 8 years and recently got engaged in the Summer of 2022. We are getting married in November 2023.
Claire Bird Tinsman ’18 and Chris Tinsman ’18
How we met: We are both from a small area in Iowa and were family friends via our parents. We met sometime in middle school and were good buddies in high school (different high schools but the same conference). Chris was recruited for the Dartmouth rowing team while I was being recruited for the Dartmouth softball team. We found out a couple of months before our freshman fall that we were both headed to Hanover. Chris and I remained great friends— we would study together on FFB, cheer each other on at races and games, and regularly attend each other’s formals.
And then: After college, Chris headed back to Iowa to work for his family’s agriculture business while I headed to Boston. When Covid hit, I came home to spend time with my family. It turns out I started spending a LOT of time with Chris, too! A few months in and we were dating and a year after that we were engaged.
Today: Chris and I just celebrated our wedding this past September and were surrounded by all of our favorite Dartmouth classmates!
Jay Artz ’00 and Laura Zoeller Artz ’00
How we met: We both took a figure skating/hockey PE class our freshman year and played on an intramural ice hockey team. I remember Jay giving me money to buy him a hockey stick when my best friend and I got a ride to Stateline Sports to buy hockey sticks. We got to know each other better on our Freshman Year Spring Break trip to Fort Lauderdale, FL. We rode the train down to Florida with a group of friends, many from my UGA group in Richardson.
Favorite memories: Since we met freshman year, we ended up having many of the same friends. Spring break trips with friends, skating, and intramural hockey, and teaching our friends to play Euchre are among our favorite shared memories at Dartmouth. We also liked participating in campus activities like the 2000 Class Council, radio station, and Winter Carnival. The friends we made have provided us with lifelong enjoyment.
Today: We got married at Dartmouth in 2002 and celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with our two kids in Maui in August. We both work in financial services, Jay for a software company, and Laura in market research and consulting. We enjoy being constantly busy and volunteering, mostly through our kids' activities. Jay is involved in coaching youth sports, particularly soccer, and both of us have been involved in the soccer board for our town. We also enjoy spending time with our family and traveling with friends and family.
Lita Remsen ’82 and Jim Marshall ’71
How we met: We didn't meet at Dartmouth (I am an ’82 and Jim is a ’71). I took an internship at the Piedmont Environmental Council in Warrenton, VA that I found through the Dartmouth Career Services Office. Jim had worked at PEC and we were introduced by a staff person there. We attended completely different Dartmouths (men only for Jim, and coeducational for me) but our common experience in the Upper Valley has made it like we've know each other longer than we have (which is over 40 years now!).
Today: We have lived in the Ithaca, NY area since 1985. We have two awesome daughters who are in their late 20s.
