University of New Haven Celebrates Charger Love Connections this Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day, meet several Chargers who met their partners when they were students at the University. Below, several Chargers share their fond memories of their time at the University, their stories of how they met, and how their time at the University shaped the rest of their lives.

Bhargavi Srirampur Gowda ’19 MHA and Harshavardhan Reddy Kota ’19 M.S.

Bhargavi Srirampur Gowda ’19 MHA: We met in February/March of 2018 in West Haven when his car got towed. He came knocking at the house I was staying in, asking me if I knew anything about it. Realizing that he was a fellow student at the University, I called him in and offered him some water while he called and found out where the car was towed to.

The following summer, I was looking for someone with a car who I could ride share with, and a mutual friend gave me his number. What was supposed to be a 3-hour journey ended up in us talking nonstop for 7-8 hours. There was just a lot of familiarity. (Supposedly he had noticed me as the pretty girl who dances beautifully during the 2017 Diwali night event).

He was an engineer pursuing his M.S. in engineering management, and I was a doctor pursuing my Master of Healthcare Administration.

We became the best of friends in the fall of 2018, which was also our last semester at the University. As president of Indian Student Council (ISC), graduate assistant for the Center for Family Business at the Orange Campus, and a volunteer with the University’s Society of Healthcare Administration chapter, I spent most of my time on campus. After our classes and his cricket matches, we would spend our days together taking part in on-campus events and planning ISC events. Weekends were mostly spent exploring the northeast with the best gang of five friends.

We both went through the excitement of graduation in December 2018 and moved to different cities. For the next two months, we had daily calls sharing the anxiety and uncertainty of job searching, motivating each other to keep up the hustle, and then finally the joy of securing full-time jobs.

The following year, we built our careers and drove three hours every weekend to spend time together. We were pretty much aware of the fact that we wanted to spend our futures with each other. Before COVID, I had to move to Texas. Maintaining our relationship long-distance was difficult, but it made our hearts grow fonder.

He proposed in 2021 in the most cheesy, Bollywood way possible, and I said yes (of course). By the end of 2021, we were married in the most beautiful Indian ceremony. We celebrated our first anniversary last month, and I cannot be more grateful to have this human in my life.

The University is the place I found myself. I look back at those 18 months as the most defining moments in my life. It gave me everything a foreign student coming into USA would need: the exposure, the learning, and the confidence.

The MHA had some of the best teachers (such as Nancy Rosenthal, Joseph Gladstone, Karl Minges, Rachel Pettiti), and they taught me valuable lessons I still use today. I was a graduate assistant to Christine Delldonna and Paul Sessions at the Orange Campus, and we spent our Thanksgiving there. Every year since that Thanksgiving we think of the warmth and happiness we had during that time.

I found two friends who are family today, I found my husband, and I met lovely people who have stayed special in my life since. We both still visit the University and relive our memories every six months because it’s just a warm, fuzzy feeling to walk in front Maxcy Hall. It’ll always be close to home for us.

We have gratitude and love forever for the University!

Concetta ’73 and Charlie Grabenstein ’87

We met at a comedy summer show in 1986.

At the end of the evening we met, in the crowd, after the show, and began talking. He followed me out to my car and asked me for my number. He called about a week later, we had our first date, and, after two years of dating, we married. This September 24 will be our 35th wedding anniversary.

The University will always be thought of as our individual higher education experience. It was the springboard for launching us both into our careers.

Elizabeth ’80 and Joseph Lagrotteria ’77, ’80 MBA

Elizabeth Lagrotteria ’80: I met Joe the day I moved into the dorm in the fall of 1976. He helped me move in and my mother kept calling him, “Hey, you, almost a senior, give us a hand!” Joe and I never shared any classes together, but we knew each other. I ended up working at the University’s bookstore in the fall of 1978, where he was the assistant manager while earning his MBA. We started dating in January of 1979 and were engaged to be married by that April.

44 years, two kids, and four grandchildren later, we’re still together! We recently returned to the University and took a picture on the dorm bridge where it all started!

The University will always mean so much to us. Not just because it’s where we met, but because it was such a wonderful educational and growth experience for both of us. It shaped our futures and united us forever.

Giovannii ’08 and Travis Salkey ’09, ’12 MPA

Giovannii Salkey ’08: I first met Travis during Student Orientation Advising and Registration (SOAR) the summer of 2004 before we started at the University. We later were enrolled in the same biology class our first year. I played volleyball, and he played lacrosse at the University.

One day, while hanging out downtown, he approached me and asked me to study for an upcoming exam. We started to study together, and he asked me to be his girlfriend over winter break during our first year.

We dated during college and have amazing memories at the University from the beginning of our relationship. We graduated in 2008/2009 and continued our courtship. In 2010, Travis asked me to be his wife. I went on to pursue a law degree at Quinnipiac University School of Law and Travis completed his master’s in public administration from the University. In 2012, we got married!

In 2013, we purchased our first home and welcomed our first child, Landon. In 2018, we welcomed our second child, Laine. Our children are our biggest blessings and our entire world. Last August, we celebrated 10 years of marriage. Thank you to the University for bringing together two New Yorkers and being the setting to our love story.

The University represents the beginning of my professional and personal journey. Attending the University enriched my life in such meaningful ways. Meeting my husband Travis, getting the start to my legal career, and learning invaluable lessons from my coach, Robin Salters, has shaped me into the woman I am today. I am forever grateful for my lifelong friendships and practical learning experiences.

Jackie ’20 and Ryan DeVore ’19 MBA

Jackie DeVore ’20: We met while taking economics during a spring semester, but we only knew each other on a first-name basis. We were interested in one another, but neither of us had the courage to pursue anything more than that. The semester quickly ended, and we parted ways for the summertime.

Normally we each had a history of taking summer classes; however, that summer we both took off. He had to temporarily locate to Texas for work, and I bought a fixer upper and spent the summer renovating. Fall semester came, and without knowing, we signed up for the same three classes. It was fate! That fall semester brought us very close together, especially after being assigned to the same group project for one of our classes. It forced us to finally exchange phone numbers and form a relationship. We started to meet outside of class to work on the project together, he started walking me to my car after each class and we naturally grew feelings for one another.

With time he met my daughter, who fell in love with him. He met my family, and I met his. Fast forward a few years later, we are now happily married and expecting our first child together.

The University is what brought us together. We worked for the same company for almost 10 years and never crossed paths until our last semesters at the University. Without the University, I don't think we would have ever met. The way we met felt so organic and natural. It happened at a pace we both wanted.

Judith D. ’80 and Peter J. Mercier III ’78 A.S., ’79

Judith D. Mercier ’80: I came to the University as a first-year student in 1976. Peter, a sophomore, was assigned as my "big brother." We started spending time together as part of Peter's "official duties" as my big brother. He showed me around campus, invited me to dorm meetings, and suite parties. Our friendship grew. We eventually started dating and were engaged in 1977. We married in August 1978, before either of us had finished our degrees, but we managed, with the help of our parents, to finish our programs and graduate with bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice (1979, Peter) and communications (1980, Judith).

Almost 45 years later, we are still happily married, living in Virginia, and enjoying our two beautiful grandsons. We think of our days at the University fondly. It has special meaning for us as without it, we probably would have never met.

Katelyn ’14, ’17 and Andrew Gitin ’14

We first met in passing through a mutual friend our first year, but only to say, “Hi. How’s it going.” Come sophomore year, we both were working a Student Committee of Programming Events (SCOPE) event; specifically, Double Dare held in the Bicker Quad. I accidentally backhanded Andrew during the event in front of everyone due to lack of space. After that, we continued to see each other on campus. We began dating in 2012, I think. He moved up to Massachusetts in 2015 after graduation in 2014. We were engaged in March 2017 and got married in the fall of 2018.

He has, over time, become not my best friend, but my forever partner. I am forever grateful for the constant love, support, and the love of crime shows. Much of our love and relationship is built on love, trust, sarcasm, and inappropriate/dark humor. We are always looking to make each other laugh and smile every day and I always look forward to our next travel adventure.

The University today means the same as what it meant to me when I began my college career. It comes down to friendship, community, support, and a home away from home. This is a campus where I was struggling and thought about transferring, but I was able to form a home away from home with some of the best friendships with my friends, many of whom are also my sorority sisters. To this day I could never be more grateful.

Lauren ’06 and Robert Colman ’06

Not many people can say they are thankful for 7 a.m. chemistry lab on Fridays. But when Lauren looked across the lab counter, she caught Rob's eye and was instantly curious and needed to meet him!

We ended up hanging out in the dorms with friends, became a “kind-of thing” Homecoming Weekend, and officially became a couple on 10/27/02. Five years later (to the day) we were married. 20+ years, four kids, three dogs, four cats, many chickens, and ducks...and we would not trade it for anything else!

The University means everything to us today. We are so thankful it helped us meet. The past 20 years have not always been easy or pretty, but we know we can count on each other to be there. The journey we have taken has not been easy but has been so worth it. We can thank the University for not only our careers and great friends, but for every day that we spend together.

Sharon ’78, ’79 M.A. and Dennis O’Neill ’79 M.A., ’80

Sharon O’Neill’ 78, ’79 M.A.: Dennis and I met at the University on the first night of a class (my last class and Dennis still had a semester to go). The story is actually in my book published in 2021 "How to Meet Someone (Not Online) Everything You Need To Find Love and Create Meaningful Relationships In The Digital Age."

Dennis O’Neill ’79 M.A., ’80: She was late leaving her office on the way to class, and therefore anxious, hating to have all eyes on her as she opened the classroom door to a room filled with weary students – the first night of the last class in her degree program. The professor pointed to the only vacant chair in the very back corner of the room. She made her way down the aisle piled high with book bags, briefcases, and warm winter jackets, including a beautiful cream color fur coat that she very carefully began to step over. But instead, she almost fell over it with a scream, as a tall, long-haired dog (not a coat) stood up! So much for not wanting all eyes on her. She watched the dog and its owner throughout the class and found them quite interesting. She promised herself that she would say hello and introduce herself to the both of them at the next class meeting. She wasn't quite ready to do so immediately that evening.

Well, that was many years ago when she followed up and met a most fascinating and attractive guy who would become her husband five years later. They would always be grateful for Babe, the gorgeous Afghan Hound, who provided the opportunity for their fortuitous meeting!

This August 13, we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary!

We thank the University for our fortuitous meeting, which has meant so much to us in how our work lives have evolved. We couldn't have expected more professionally. Even though we went on for additional degrees, we always remind ourselves that none of it would have happened without what we learned in our organizational/industrial psychology program, that it was such a sound program, and that our professors had us excited about the work and careers that we could look forward to!

Our years at the University allowed for our lives to become more than we could have imagined – finding each other to love along with fulfilling careers we have loved.