It was spring semester at RPI -- the weekend after midterms -- at a party on campus. Matt was with his Chi Phi brothers, and Ali arrived with her floormates, the "Quad Squad." Mutual friends brought the two groups together, and Matt immediately struck up a conversation with Ali. They started talking about their majors, how many classes they were taking, and what kind of calculators they used. Their eavesdropping friends soon discovered these two were the only ones at the party trying to one-up each other on who had a harder course load that semester. Eventually, one of Ali's friends walked right in the middle of them and encouraged them to dance before the night ended. Matt and Ali ended their unconventional conversation and finally danced. A few days later, Matt asked Ali to be his date for the Chi Phi formal, and Ali agreed to go with him. When they heard the news, Matt's fraternity brothers -- who had been quoting Ali and Matt's calculator conversation for days -- voted him Brother of the Week for "finding the perfect girl" because Matt could be himself around Ali and she was still interested. Although both sets of friends were already convinced, it was at the Chi Phi formal that Ali and Matt realized they were the perfect match.
Over the next 7 years, Ali and Matt were there for each other through everything: their graduations, living on opposite coasts, moving to Southern California, becoming engineering professionals, Ali's marathons, Matt's cooking experiments, and endless adventures together. What hasn't changed is how well they "get" each other and support each other's ambitions. Matt proposed to Ali while on a camping trip in California's Red Rock Canyon State Park with a ring he designed using Ali's favorite medical grade metal. Matt and Ali are thrilled to take this next step and celebrate with family and friends.