Few students walk around campus expecting to find the love of their life.
But the ASU Alumni Association has collected stories of alumni who found true love through chance encounters on campus in past years.
After receiving 75 submissions from Sun Devil couples young and old, the Alumni Association will award a two-night stay at the Tempe Mission Palms resort to two grand prize winners.
“We’ve received stories from couples who attended ASU in the 1950s to couples that graduated as recently as 1999,” said Adeline Lui, marketing and communications manager for the Alumni Association.
The contest involved finding the most unique, heartwarming or funny ASU love story from former students.
The contest is one way for the Alumni Association to have a thoughtful interaction with alumni, said Tracy Scott, director of strategic marketing communications and membership.
“We want to engage the alumni in a meaningful way,” Scott said.
Lui said since the contest began in January, the association has received many emotional, heartwarming stories.
One entry came from a couple that married and graduated in 1959, the first year ASU officially became a university.
“They were in the first class to have graduation inside what was then the brand new football stadium,” Lui said.
The couple submitted a photograph taken at the 2009 graduation ceremony, where they returned to ASU for the 50th anniversary of the University and their marriage.
Lui said she has been brought to tears by some of the entries.
“We received a submission from a man whose wife passed away, and he said he is still very much in love with her,” she said.
The entry, sent by Bill Faust, class of ’68, said his wife died on Feb. 11, 2001 — exactly 45 years since their first date.
Lui said the association has received a few humorous entries as well, including a couple that fell in love while taking a marriage and family class.
“He didn’t want to take the class, but he needed to fulfill a requirement and she wanted to have the class with him,” Lui said.
According to their entry letter, the couple has since been married for nearly nine years and has two little girls.
The winning stories will be announced next Friday and will be included in the alumni newsletter. All of the entries are planned to be posted on the Alumni Association Web site, Lui said.
The two runners-up will receive tickets to the production of “Avenue Q” at Gammage Auditorium in March.
Scott said a six-person committee has reviewed the entries and have selected a small number of finalists, but she couldn’t possibly choose a winner among all the unique submissions.
“They’re all such great stories, and they’re all winners,” Scott said.
Reach the reporter at chase.kamp@asu.edu
