Couples Who Met at Michigan Ross Share Their Love Stories
Although they may not have attended a top-tier business school to find their future partner, these alumni from the Ross School of Business did just that.
Whether it be in classes, club events, or rollerblading around Ann Arbor, these six couples met their significant other while students at Michigan Ross and went on to form loving, long-lasting relationships.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, the alumni pairs share their stories on how they met in business school and their memories from Michigan Ross.
Connecting in Colombia
Daniel Vergara and Giuliana Sanchez, MBAs ‘19
Daniel and Giuliana are celebrating their very first wedding anniversary this year, having met as Full-Time MBA students in 2017. Their love story began at an orientation barbeque organized by the Latin American Business Student Association.
After talking, the two realized that they were in the same section and soon began sitting in class together. They would talk in between classes with Giuliana stealing Daniel’s coffee everyday. As Giuliana explained, “Daniel is Colombian and coffee is a big deal to him.”
Daniel’s Colombian roots proved to be a significant part of their love story. While students, he and Giuliana went on a Ross Trek to Colombia with 120 of their MBA peers.
After the trek ended, Daniel and Giuliana decided to stay an additional day in Colombia. Little did Giuliana know that Daniel planned to propose that night. After a nice dinner and watching the sunset, the two came back to Ross as an engaged couple.
Congratulations to the couple who got married last March in Peru!
Love comes to those who wait
Susan Levy and David Mortensen, MBAs ‘80
Susan and Dave’s story proves that love truly does come to those who wait. The couple were married in 2019, almost 40 years after meeting at Michigan Ross in 1978.
The two met on their first day of accounting class and soon discovered that they were both from Shaker Heights, Ohio. Even though they grew up two blocks from each other, they would not go on to date together until their first semester of business school in Ann Arbor.
“I remember going to football and basketball games and Dave cooking wonderful pasta dinners for me. We always had a good time together, but at the time, Dave was WAY too old for me and we each went separate ways,” shared Susan.
Dave ended up marrying one of their classmates, Jan Black, MBA ‘80, and Susan and Jan became very good friends.
However, in 2016, Dave reached out to Susan to tell her that Jan was terminally ill. The two soon reconnected when Dave invited her over to his house to catch up after Susan attended Jan’s memorial service.
“He made me another terrific dinner. We talked and talked and talked. And we’ve been together ever since,” said Susan.
The couple jokes that their huge age difference (six years) does not seem so great anymore. Since they reconnected, they have moved from Chicago to Scottsdale and built their dream home together.
Distances makes the heart grow fonder
Nikita Sule and Sati Singh (Satinder Singh), MBAs ‘18 (exchange from WHU - Otto Beissheim School of Business, Germany)
Nikita and Sati’s love story proves that love can truly find you anywhere - especially at Michigan Ross.
I can’t believe Sati, born and raised in Germany and me, born and raised in India, met in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And today we are married and settled in San Francisco. Our paths would’ve never crossed if it weren’t for Michigan Ross.
The couple met in Michigan Ross Professor Toni Whited’s valuation class in fall 2017. Sati sat directly across from Nikita and she quickly became impressed with him for answering most of the professor’s questions.
Nikita’s favorite Ross memory with Sati was competing against him in a private equity competition.
“I still can’t believe his team won,” explained Nikita. “Both of us are very competitive, so it was certainly a unique situation. Little did we know that such stressful times and meeting tough deadlines only got easier as we faced them together!”
Nikita and Sati’s love story proves that distance makes the heart grow fonder. After graduation, they both began their respective careers as investment bankers at Bank of America. Sati moved back to Frankfurt, Germany and Nikita moved to San Francisco.
After two years of doing long distance, Sati moved to San Francisco. The couple married last February and many of their friends from Ross even traveled to India for the wedding.
Congratulations on one year of marriage!
Skating into love
Amy Rosen Wildstein and Evan Wildstein, BBA ‘92, BBA ‘93
Who knew that rollerblading could lead to a lifetime of love?
Evan shared the first time he saw Amy. “She was rollerblading on Greenwood Avenue one fateful day in May of 1991. I was outside grilling in the front yard of a friend's house.”
Amy’s rollerblades caught Evan’s attention, as he had recently gotten a pair himself and he came over to introduce himself.
“She fell and skinned her knee, I saved the day with a band-aid, and the rest is history,” Evan explained.
The couple was married in 1998 and still love reflecting on their many memories from their time at Michigan Ross, from trying sushi for the first time on their first date at Miki, to late night chipatis at Pizza House, to having the opportunity to go back to campus together to speak at a Ross Undergraduate Investment Conference in 2019.
The couple welcomed three children and enjoy bringing them to campus for annual football games in the Big House.
BBA study buddies to Ross BBA parents
Gretchen Landgraff Koury and Lee Koury, BBAs ‘94
Gretchen and Lee’s love story proves that all roads lead back to Michigan Ross. The couple met in a finance class as BBA students and are celebrating 23 years of marriage this year. They have four children with the eldest a current Ross BBA junior.
“We were in Stanley Kon’s finance class and I was the first student he called on the first day of class. He asked me to come up and lead the class in a discussion and I had no clue what I was doing. Lee sat right in front of me and turned around to console me after the horrifying experience,” said Gretchen.
Soon afterwards, Gretchen asked Lee to her Tri-Delta sorority date party and they were inseparable after that day. She added, “During finals, he shared all of his outlines with me and I knew he was the guy!”
After five years of dating, the couple was married and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where “they are tormented by annoying Ohio State fans.”
Group project gone right
Amin Irving and Tiffaney (Phelps) Irving, BBAs ‘99
Amin and Tiffaney’s love story began with Tiffaney helping Amin submit his resume for the Black Business Student Association (BBSA) resume book.
“Tiffaney was just standing in the computer lab checking her email. I didn't know how to enter my resume in the resume book, so I simply asked if she had done it yet. She gracefully took over and helped me enter it into the BBSA book,” said Amin.
The two did not speak again until their paths crossed during a marketing class when Amin asked to join her group because he missed the class where teams were assigned.
“Seeing that she was the only other Black person in the class, I walked up to her and asked, ‘Do you have a group yet?’. She was like ‘Yeah’, and I was like ‘Can I join your group?’. She said,‘C'mon’.”
They became close friends from working together, but didn't start dating until senior year.
Amin shared his favorite memory from his time at Michigan Ross.
My favorite memory was when we were in the computer lab and Tiffaney walked past me with her nose all up in the air because she was mad that I didn't call her over the summer. That was the first time she ever revealed that she truly cared.”
Since graduating from Ross, the two have never actually dated anyone else and have been married for 17 years and have four beautiful children.
