Ryan and Alyssa each graduated high school in the Spring of 2008 and began their continuing education at Illinois State University in the Fall. While they both had to take many classes in DeGarmo Hall, it actually wasn't their class schedules that lead them to cross paths...

Starting their Freshman year, they each obtained part-time jobs working in the dining facilities on campus along with hundreds of other students. Fast forward two years later (Spring 2010)... they found out that they would be scheduled to work together several times a week when they returned for their Junior year. When Ryan learned this, he wasted no time finding Alyssa on Facebook and sent her a friend request almost immediately! He appeared to have his sights set pretty early on...