For many UC Santa Cruz alumni, the winding forest paths, ocean views, and late-night study sessions weren’t just backdrops to their education; they were the setting for the beginning of lifelong partnerships. For Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating 14 UCSC alumni who found more than just a degree on campus—they found each other. From chance encounters in dorm hallways to shared ambitions that grew into enduring love, these Banana Slug sweethearts prove that some of the best college experiences last a lifetime.
It was 2011, the third day of welcome week. A bunch of us were hanging out in the lounge watching Pirates of the Caribbean when suddenly Jonathan walked into the lounge and we started talking. Later that evening we all went on a hike and when we got back we stayed up until 2 a.m. talking. The next day we went to the Boardwalk Frolic together and hung out the whole time. We continued hanging out and on 11/11/11 at 11:11 he asked me to be his girlfriend. The rest is history.
We graduated from UCSC in 2016, and went on to finish nursing school together. We got married in 2023 and will be graduating together this year from our nurse practitioner master's program. Forever grateful for UCSC and to the people who assigned us both to Rutherford in 2011.
Libby Lok (College 9 ’07, community studies)
Stuart Lok (John R. Lewis ’07, Earth science)
Stuart and I met at UCSC our freshmen year in 2003. We started dating sophomore year when we had a class together. Valentine’s Day of 2005 Stuart told his Dad he had a Valentine, from then on it was official.
Stuart was an Earth Science major from College 10 (John R. Lewis College) and I was a Community Studies major from College 9. While at UCSC Stuart was an avid mountain biker, BMX rider, and photographer. I was involved with the Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center, retention efforts for students of color, and Asian American Studies efforts.
We have lived up and down the West Coast of California, Washington DC, and Florence, Italy. Stuart is a photographer for an architectural product company and Libby is a Family Business Consultant.
Maria Cecilia Soto (Merrill ’23, applied linguistics and multilingualism and linguistics)
Miles Marsh (Crown ‘24, computer science and game design)
Miles and I met during the Summer Edge program at Porter dining hall in 2021, right after the campus was reopening after full-scale shutdowns for COVID-19 precautions. He and I had the same friend group, so we spent a lot of time together either at McHenry working on our assignments or at the dorms eliciting noise complaints because we were playing Beat Saber on the VR a little too loudly during finals. After many months of being friends and getting to know each other on a deeper level, we started officially dating after he asked me to be his partner one morning in a mini-apartment next to the Cowell fountain.
This coming March, it will have been three years! A Crown guy and a Merrill gal found each other all the way over in Porter and now we’re traveling the world! I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Joelle Monreal (they/she) (’13 film and digital media)
Andrés Monreal (’12, anthropology)
Andrés and I met in 2011 while working at Cinema 9 downtown. We were both UCSC students and we grew closer by carpooling to class together every Tuesday and Thursday night. We started dating in 2013 and have been together ever since! Andrés and I stayed in Santa Cruz a few years after graduation until we moved to Los Angeles and eventually back to our hometown of San Diego in 2018.
We planned on eloping on campus on our 10 year anniversary (Friday the 13th 2023), but the devastating storms in Santa Cruz that winter had us pivot and elope here in San Diego. Andrés and I spent a magical time back on campus in August 2024 when we attended Return to the Redwoods to represent my newly founded group QUAC (Queer UCSC Alumni Community). We spend our free time watching movies, trying new vegan food, going to the beach, and going on adventures with our two rescue dogs, Gertie and Ripley.
P.S. I have a banana slug vampire tattoo that symbolizes our love for UCSC and The Lost Boys.
Greg Kremenliev (’69, history)
Mary Ann Kremenliev (Cowell ’74, math)
Upon my return for my second year, I met a group of friends at the Boardwalk one evening in early October. I immediately fell head over heels for one of the girls (Mary Ann) in the group they had met a few days earlier. She was not so sure, but I was persistent and eventually we fell deeply in love, marrying in the Catholic Church in Capitola on December 15th, 1968. Our reception was at the Unitarian Church in Freedom.
On December 15, 2024, we celebrated our 56th anniversary, four children and four grandchildren later. Often we ponder how we were so blessed to have found each other and survived for so many years. Especially since we were way too young to have any idea what we were doing back then. But it worked out pretty well—we are healthy and happy.
Briana Bugarin (Merrill ’22, linguistics)
Gavin Williams (Merrill ‘22, history)
Our freshman year at UC Santa Cruz, we lived in the Merrill dorms just two doors down from each other. About a week into knowing one another we made the hasty, but ultimately wonderful, decision to call ourselves a couple. We completed undergrad by each other’s side before graduating in 2022. Immediately after graduating, we moved away together so that Gavin could pursue a Ph.D. in history at UC Santa Barbara.
Today, we are both continuing our education, this time with our two cats, Phoebe and Tassy, who we adore to no end. We hope that in the future we can travel the world, start a family, and pay regular visits to the campus that brought us together.
Robert Moorehead (Cowell ‘89, sociology)
Christina Hoover Moorehead (Cowell ’89, psychology)
Christina and I met the day after the dorms opened in 1985, in our first year at Cowell College. She lived on the second floor of Prescott House, and I on the first. We started going out three days later, 40 years ago this September 30. We married in 1993, and have two kids, ages 26 and 28.
We've been each other's constant companion for four decades, even surviving me being gone for a year studying in Barcelona. We've lived in Japan multiple times, for over 8 years total, and now live just outside Chicago.
