“We didn’t know each other before since he’s from Santa Catarina state and I’m from São Paulo state, more than 620 miles apart,” she says. “The day I arrived at Miner Village, he offered to help me with my suitcases since my room was on the third floor and, when he picked one up, the handle broke.”
Raíssa studied petroleum engineering and Welenton studied computer engineering while at Rolla. The pair would often walk to campus and have breakfast together at the Havener Center or at the Starbucks cafe inside the library.
Today the couple lives in Brazil, where Raíssa works for Bayer and Welenton works for Amazon Web Services.
Their relationship advice?
“Listen and support each other in both good and challenging times,” she says.
“My sorority sisters encouraged me to invite him to our winter formal, but I chickened out,” she says.
Instead, Samantha would find reasons to go with a friend over to Beta Sigma Psi to work on a project or cudgel for St. Pat’s. After some time passed, she finally got the courage to talk to him for a while at the Grotto in March 2012. They started dating soon after.
“During St. Pat’s, literally the week we started dating, Scott was doing the cudgel carry for Beta Sig on the Havener lawn,” she says. “Not only did I miss him carrying a massive tree on his back to win the cudgel carry, but as I jokingly apologized for how horrible of a girlfriend I was being, I tripped over a few wires holding up three other cudgels and almost took the whole ‘forest’ down with me in front of most of campus.”
After Scott earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in December 2012, the couple would drive eight hours every other weekend to spend time with each other. The long-distance relationship continued after Samantha earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering management.
“We broke ground on our dream home in March, got engaged the next week, married eight months later, and welcomed our first daughter two weeks before our first anniversary,” she says. “Now, we are five years in and expecting baby number three in a couple of months. We still have regular chats with our friends from Greek life and dress in green for St. Pat’s.”
Today Samantha teaches science at Trico High School and Scott works as an engineer at Holcomb Foundation Engineering.
Samantha says that their Rolla history and friendships have really carried through every experience they’ve had.
“Rolla is something unlike anything you can explain to people who never went, experienced a Pat’s, or have any clue about the dynamics of the campus,” she says. “Hold onto the people and friends you meet there, they’ll literally be there for you for decades to come.”
Their relationship advice?
“If you can’t be yourself when you’re dating, you won’t be able to be truly yourself in a marriage,” she says. “You can’t force it to work and it especially won’t work if you feel like you have to change yourself or the other person.”
Married in September 2020, the pair shared many memorable campus moments together, including during St. Pat’s Follies at the Puck.
“We did the challenge of how many garters he could fit on my leg,” she says. “We didn’t win, but it was a lot of fun.”
The couple earned their bachelor’s degrees in 2018: Taylor’s in civil engineering and Tyler’s in mechanical engineering.
“My parents met at Rolla too, so it’s fun to say we both met our husbands and wives at Rolla,” she says.
Their relationship advice?
“Always communicate with each other no matter how uncomfortable,” she says. “Communicate your needs, goals, wants and dreams with each other so you can make life the best it can be for one another.”
“A buddy of mine took Mary Jane and her girlfriend home after the game,” James says. “That started it – she was the majorette!”
After they graduated high school, Mary attended nursing school in St. Louis while James studied mechanical engineering at S&T. She attended party weekends in Rolla as the couple struggled with distance and dealt with many pay phone calls late at night.
“I hitchhiked to her many, many times,” he says. “Our three-plus years of love letters fill a suitcase.”
The couple married in August 1967, which was a year before James earned his bachelor’s degree.
“Mary Jane was able to support us with her job as a nurse at the university’s infirmary,” he says. “She surprised me when I graduated in ‘68 with a Miner college ring she secretly saved out of our meager budget,” he adds.
Their first child was born near the end of his senior year of college. They returned to Rolla in 1970 for James to pursue a master’s degree in computer science, and Mary Jane again worked at the university’s infirmary. He earned that degree in 1972.
Some of their favorite memories of campus include treating themselves to Alex’s Pizza or a sundae at the local drugstore, free Sunday movies at the Student Union, and hanging out at Frisco park.
The pair returned for S&T’s Golden Alumni Reunion a couple years ago and had a great time.
Their relationship advice?
“Support one another always, give 101% to your partner and enjoy life,” he says.
One of their favorite shared campus experiences was “watching Dr. Richardson’s band perform at Leach Theatre,” Courtney says.
Jeff earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2001 and his master’s degree in engineering management 2007. Courtney earned her bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering in 2008 and her master’s degree in civil engineering in 2010. The couple married in October 2010.
Today Courtney works as a senior structural and mechanical engineer for Nooter/Eriksen. Jeff works as a project manager for Ameren Missouri.
“We are currently both working full time in the St. Louis area and have three children,” she says.
Their relationship advice?
“Have fun and be ready for anything,” she says.
“Then one Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, I gave him a note detailing my feelings,” she says. “Coincidentally, he was already planning on asking me out on a date, and he did. We’ve been together ever since and will be officially tying the knot this June.”
As biological sciences majors, one of their favorite shared campus experiences was just attending classes and walking through campus together. Grace graduated from S&T in May 2019, and Matthew graduated the following spring.
“Even though we’ve graduated and moved away from Rolla, I can confidently say that we’re both grateful for being able to find and meet each other at S&T,” she says.
Their relationship advice?
“Even though we’re still very young ourselves, for us and our relationship, communication, honesty and respect play a very important role in longevity just as much as love does,” she says.
“We loved hanging out with friends, many of which we still hang out with today,” she says. “Our favorite off-campus place was Slice of Pie.”
Patrick earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2005. Tina earned bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences and chemical engineering in 2006. The couple married in January 2007 in Hawaii and currently live in Ohio.
“We have two kids: Alyssa was born in 2012 and Connor was born in 2014,” she says.
Today Tina works for Procter & Gamble and Patrick owns Atomic Robot, a digital app agency.
Their relationship advice?
“Always be each other’s best friend,” she says.
“It was a blind date for the two of us, though not for the other couple,” she says. “We went on another date a week or two later, just the two of us, and another after that, and the rest is history.”
As students, the two enjoyed playing board games together with friends in the Society of Physics Students room.
Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in physics in 2008, and Camille earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2009. The couple married in October 2010.
Their relationship advice?
“No matter how awkward it seems, it’s always better to discuss an issue with your significant other rather than let misunderstandings or misconceptions remain between you,” she says.
“That was probably our first friend group on campus, and how we got more connected to CCF and campus in general,” she says. “We were the only two freshman in the group, and eight-hour car drives help you get to know people better!”
In 2020, Lindsay earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Garrett earned bachelor’s degrees in architectural engineering and civil engineering. The pair married in May 2020.
As students, Lindsay says one of the shared favorite experiences was running through campus together.
Their relationship advice?
“Take time to really get to know each other and grow your friendship,” she says. “Communication is key – talk about things you’re passionate about and listen. Care about each other’s lives and learn healthy ways to talk through disagreements.”
“Eventually we decided to give dating a shot,” she says. “Walking to Einstein Bros. at the Havener Center for breakfast almost became a ritual for us. Being there for each others’ highs and lows – bad finances, house hunts, thesis presentations, first internship, first job, graduation – just helped us bond better.”
In 2010, Kumar earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and Sudha earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering. The pair married in 2012 and have two children.
“We always look back to our days in Rolla with great fondness as they have been the foundation to our relationship,” she says. “We came to establish our careers, but left with many experiences far more priceless, just one of them being our partnership.”
Their relationship advice?
“Working toward a graduate degree can sometimes be very stressful,” she says. “Meeting that special someone can help but sometimes be a distraction as well. It’s all about balancing personal and academic. At the end, the right person can become your pillar of strength through all those trying times.”