Penn State Brandywine lovebirds share their stories

MEDIA, Pa. — This Valentine’s Day, Penn State Brandywine is recognizing couples whose love stories began on campus. Two couples — Ed (class of 2004) and Karen Rich (class of 2006) and Christi (class of 2000) and Jason Lewis (class of 2001) — shared how they met and how Penn State Brandywine impacted their relationships.

Christi and Jason Lewis

Christi and Jason met in 1996 when they were both first-year students at Penn State Delaware County (the campus name was changed to Penn State Brandywine in 2007), but their relationship wasn’t love at first sight.

“We did not like each other,” Christi said. “It was definitely not love at first sight, but I couldn’t imagine being without him now.”

Christi and Jason had mutual friends at Penn State Delaware County who then transitioned to University Park with them in 1998. After graduating from college, they didn’t reconnect again until summer 2001, when their love story started.

“Both our roommates were dating at the time. They invited me down to the Jersey Shore, and Christi and I were in the same house for the weekend. We’ve been together every day ever since,” Jason said.

“Without us meeting at Penn State and having that common group of friends and roommates who were dating, we wouldn’t have ended up in that beach house together, and it would have taken something else for us to meet, and our story would have been different,” Jason added.

“We were so different every time we met. We were very different at Brandywine than we were at University Park than we were afterward.”

Christi and Jason got engaged in early 2003 and married in the summer of 2003. They had two daughters in 2007 and 2008.

Ed and Karen Rich

Ed and Karen’s love story began at Penn State Delaware County during preseason summer volleyball practice in 2004, when Ed (a recent graduate and familiar face on campus) walked into the auxiliary gym and casually joined practice alongside the team.

“At the time, I had only seen him in passing,” Karen said. “I was pretty shy and mostly stuck with my classes and teammates, so actually being on the court with him that night really stood out to me.”

A few weeks later, their paths crossed again during a tournament weekend at University Park. Ed, who was friends with many current and former volleyball players, traveled with the team to support them and spend time together afterward. He and Karen had their first real conversation that evening, which was when they felt a spark between them.

“We took our first picture together that night and really got to know each other,” Karen said. “Even though people told us we were too different and it wouldn’t work, there was clearly something there.”

Karen and Ed began dating in October 2004 and were engaged by June 2006. They had their first kiss in the parking lot outside the Commons/Athletics Center and got engaged in the same spot.

The two got married two years later in June 2008 and went on to build their family, having one son and one daughter.

Both of the couples noted that if it wasn’t for Penn State, they wouldn’t have found each other. They all said that Penn State Brandywine holds significant meaning in their love stories.

Did you and your significant other meet at Penn State Brandywine? Tell us about your love story for a chance to be featured in a future “Lovebirds” campaign.