| Their Story |
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| Sarah and Rob Sarah is pursuing a masters of arts and specialist certification in the School Psychology program at the University of Delaware. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999 with a B.A. in Psychology. Following an internship at The Hill Center, a school serving children with learning differences in Durham, NC, Sarah began working full-time for the school as the Assistant Director of Development. Sarah's desire to work with children with special needs grew during her time at the Hill Center, and she realized that graduate school was in the future. This is where Rob comes in...they dated long distance for a year and Sarah decided to pursue her graduate career at The University of Delaware. Rob is a doctoral student in the Biomechanics and Movement Science program at the University of Delaware. He attended a number of undergraduate institutions (including a semester abroad in Wichita, KS) before settling down and obtaining a B.S. from Marietta College in Ohio. He completed his M.S. in Biomechanics at Springfield College in Massachusetts. Rob has never had a real job besides pumping gas and selling athletic footwear. He is active in the soccer community and currently coaches for the Kirkwood Soccer Club and at the state level with the Delaware Olympic Development Program. Sarah and Rob both reside in Newark, Delaware and are co-owners of two rescued Sheltand Sheepdogs from the Shetland Sheepdog Club of Greater Baltimore. The dogs names are Tanner and Cody and keep their parents quite entertained. |
| How They Met... Sarah and Rob met on a few brief occasions over the course of several years through mutual friends. Even though their encounters were brief, the two left lasting impressions on one another. In August 2002 their paths crossed yet again when Rob journeyed to North Carolina to visit Sarah's roomate Jennie McCray (one of Sarah's best friends and her maid of honor) just before he began his doctoral studies at the University of Delaware. The two hit it off and the rest was history... they dated long distance for a year. After a lot of paid tolls on I-95 and a lot of phone bills, Sarah decided that the School Psychology program at the University of Delaware was outstanding and a perfect fit. Sarah started classes in the fall of 2002 and will finish her studies in the spring of 2005. Sarah and Rob are on track to walk at the same commencement ceremony in May 2005 at the University of Delaware (approximately 25 days before their wedding). |
| She said "Are you serious?" Which is Better than "No..." Rob knew that Sarah had never been to Europe, and had always pictured proposing to her on a bridge overlooking a river somewhere overseas. To convince Sarah to free her schedule and finally obtain her first passport, Rob developed an elaborately fabricated story about being chosen to serve on a panel of the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) in London! After months and months of fake phone calls, fabricated conference preparation, and other embellishments to his elaborate story, Rob and Sarah boarded British Airways headed for London on December 11, 2003. The two arrived at Heathrow Airport at 6:30 a.m. London-time on December 12, and because Sarah believed their first day to be the only day they would have together, the two spent the entire day seeing the sights. As night fell, Rob insisted that he wanted to see Big Ben lit at night over the water. The view was breathtaking as they left the "tube" station and walked out onto Westminster bridge over the Thames River, with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament gleaming in the background. Rob began to sing to Sarah and to dance with her across the bridge (which, Sarah insists, is par for the course for her not-so-shy guy). As the reached the middle of the bridge, Rob twirled Sarah away from him and, when she spun around to meet Rob, he was on one knee asking, "Will you marry me?" Although Sarah lost her breath and nearly walked backwards into the street, she quickly responded "Yes!" (After first asking if Rob was serious). Rob then informed Sarah that the entire trip had been for her and that they had the full five days to spend together in London, as the conference was a big hoax! |
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| Tanner Cody |
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