At a glance
“I was definitely after her before she was after me. There were some funny stories, when people asked us if we're together and she'd tell them no and I'd be a little disappointed. It was a like-like situation for a little while that just sort of built into something a little bit more.”
Matt DiRado
Alfred State alumni share amazing stories of their time on campus. Stories about time spent in classrooms, labs, residence halls, and throughout campus but most commonly, alumni share about the relationships and friendships they made and still enjoy today.
As couples across the world celebrate Valentine’s Day, Alfred State honors relationships that started at Alfred State.
Video: Love Stories that Started at Alfred State
Photo Gallery: Alfred State Couples
Matt and Nicole DiRado, ’14, met while students at Alfred State and now they both teach at the college.
“We were friends for a long time before we actually started dating,” stated Nicole, “We hung out a lot, so people thought we were dating before we actually were.”
Video: Alfred State Brought Us Together
Matt continued, “I was definitely after her before she was after me. There were some funny stories, when people asked us if we're together and she'd tell them no and I'd be a little disappointed. It was a like-like situation for a little while that just sort of built into something a little bit more.”
A trip to Myrtle Beach between their sophomore and junior years, their friendship evolved into a relationship. The couple remembers dates to L’Italia in Wellsville for Valentine’s Day and quality time spent at Alex’s.
Both Matt and Nicole continued their relationship and studies at Syracuse University. Nicole completed her program at SU and a job teaching at Alfred State drew her back to her alma mater. While finishing his degree, Matt started thinking about proposing.
“I was sitting in class, and I just texted my buddy and told him I think I'm going to propose to Nicole. When she had left to come work here, I was able to shop around freely for a ring.”
A visit to see Nicole led Matt to apply for a teaching position at ASC. “She's probably a big reason I started here. She was here working before me, so I just visited some old colleagues, and they said there's a job opening.”
The couple got married in July of 2018 and recently celebrated the third birthday of their daughter Mia.
Matt and Nicole are both Associate Professors at Alfred State, Matt in the Architecture Department and Nicole in the Forensic Science Department.
The Marketing Communications Office recently called for Alfred State couples to share their love stories. Dating couples, engaged couples, and married couples responded. Some couples met while studying at the college while others met while working at the college.
David and Rebecca Allen met when they were at Alfred State between 2000 and 2002. We got married in 2003, have had a couple of kids, and are still married. We are both still in the trades that we studied on the Wellsville campus.
Tyler and Carina Bruning met during their first year in 2014. We both graduated in 2018 with Construction Management Engineering Technology degrees and just got married in August.
Ryan and Jennifer Caron met at Alfred State in 2011. We were married in 2018 and are the parents of two kids. Thank you, Alfred State, for finding me my soulmate.
Devon and Jessica Clark met at Alfred State, and I proposed to her at the Homecoming football game in 2019. Alfred State is a huge part of our story!
Jake Clark and Ashley Szumla were both part of the Class of 2023 and got engaged in November at Disney World.
Jonathan Codi and Cassidy Territo met at Alfred State in 2015. We got engaged last year and are getting married this August.
Adam Conrad and Mary Johnson met at school and became real good friends at Alfred. A few years after graduation we decided to try dating and have been together since 2012.
Scott and Robin Copey met as neighbors in a Rowhouse in MacKenzie East in 1995. We celebrate twenty-six years of marriage this June. We find ourselves still in ‘Alfred state of mind.’
Ethan and Sarah Dale met on the swim team in 2017 and were married in December 2023.
Tom and Meghan Ellerson state their Alfred friends are forever, from weddings to growing a family.
Cristhopher and Veronica Guzman have been happily married for six years.
James and Rachel Lynch met in 2017 at the Terrace and introduced to each other by a mutual friend. It was love at first sight and we have been inseparable ever since. We got married on Oct. 29, 2022, and bought our first house in North Syracuse in 2024.
Jerome and Nia McGrowder are both Alfred State graduates that met in high school. Alfred gave us our small-town love story. We have been happily married for three years.
Michael and Sarah Miller met at Alfred State in fall 2014. He is in TG, and I am in DCO. I had to plan a sports event with TG, and he was their athletic chair. We started texting and sparks flew. We got engaged a few months later during a spring break trip to Mexico. We got married on May 29, 2016. Michael is currently a Captain in the Marine Corp and Sarah is a trauma therapist and forensic interviewer for adolescents.
David and Brianna Morse met at Alfred State and got married this summer.
Andy and Emily Nelson met while both were working at Alfred State. We were married in Oct. 2012 and are the proud parents of two daughters.
Jacob and Morgan Patanella met in the fall semester of 2017 while at a week of welcome event. Started dating at the very beginning of the spring semester right after Christmas in 2018. Got married in 2023 and now have a house and three cats. Both have careers in the fields they majored in, mechanical engineering, and baking & pastry. All because of Alfred!
Caleb and Lexi Rosario met in fall 2017 in chemistry class and got married on July 27, 2024.
Shawn and Amanda Ryder started dating in 2003. It has been a wild and crazy ride since Alfred State.
Chris and Francine Staba are faculty members that met Alfred State. We were married in 2001, and their blended family, Cory Brion, Alyssa Staba, Tyler Brion, and Lauren Saba all have degrees from Alfred State.
Adam and Nicole Tatlock met at Alfred in 2013 and will be celebrating five years of marriage on Feb. 29 (well Feb. 28) and twelve years together. We have also added a set of beautiful twins to our family who just turned two.
Max Warren and Kaitie Vazquez met during our junior year of college at Greek event between our houses four years ago and are still currently together. We just recently moved in together!
David and Keena Zuber met at Alfred State in 2016 and were married in 2022.