NC State love was in the air Saturday night as alumni couples gathered at the Park Alumni Center to celebrate Valentine’s Day, dance the night away and reminisce on how they met on campus. Here are a few of their stories:
Ed and Billie Jo Schweitzer, class of 1972
It was a Friday night at a Theta Chi fraternity rush party, and the music was blaring. Billie Jo wanted to play a song, and she ran into Ed at the jukebox. They began to chat and flirt, and he ended up taking her as his date to another fraternity party the next weekend. They dated on and off for the next year, while she went on a few other dates with some of his fraternity brothers.
“I was a party girl,” she said.
When going steady during his senior year, they went on a date to the NC State v. Wake Forest basketball game. A year later, Ed and Billie Jo were married and have been happily married for 42 years. Both of their children are NC State alumni.
“We still support NC State academically through the Alumni Association and through the College of Design,” Billie Jo said.
Adam and Laura Coninger, class of 2010
Adam and Laura met through Student Government and were on the Diversity Committee together their sophomore year. Adam was the head of the committee, and Laura was a driven student who was inspired to start working on diversity activities immediately. Impressed with Laura’s initiative, they started hanging out more and more, and then they eventually dated.
“He was such a gentleman, always walking me around campus, walking me back to my dorm,” she said.
They didn’t have their first date for a while because they were friends for so long. Neither could recall their first date, but they remember their first Valentine’s Day — and it still holds a special place in their hearts. They continue their tradition every year.
“We got take-out Chinese food from Shanghai Express on Hillsborough, and I had spruced up my dorm room in Bagwell and had candles out.”
They had some company, though. Adam’s roommate was on the top bunk, quietly minding his business while the two enjoyed their take-out dinner.
Tim and Cecelia Lant, class of 1988 and 1992
Tim had just graduated with his master’s, and Cecelia was still in grad school. Cecelia was taking a summer class with one of Tim’s roommates, and on a hot summer day in 1988, a group of his and her friends decided to go canoeing.
Four short months later, Cecilia asked Tim, who had never been out of the country before, if he wanted to go back home to Argentina with her.
He promised her that he would learn Spanish, and many years later, he has not upheld his promise. However, they have been married for 26 years and look back fondly on their memories at NC State. Their daughter graduated from NC State last year.
Henry and Linda Lamb, class of 1980
Henry and Linda met on move-in day in 1977, and after some chatting, they found out they were both majoring in chemical engineering. On the very first night of college, they went to the Pier, Cameron Village’s underground bar, and stayed until closing time.
Because Linda was an out-of-state student, she moved in a few days early for out-of-state orientation. She said there weren’t many people on campus, so she was just excited that there were people to hang out with.
She ended up spending a lot of time in Tucker, Henry’s dorm, because in Bowen, her dorm, there was no air conditioning. Although there wasn’t air conditioning in Tucker either, there were windows that could be opened to let in the breeze, she said.
Henry said that the men-to-women ratio was basically 9:1 back in the ‘70s, so he felt lucky to score Linda — so lucky that they got married after their sophomore year. Well, that was only part of the reason. Linda wanted to switch her major, but because her scholarship was tied to it, she wouldn’t be able to go to NC State without it. So, in order to qualify for in-state tuition, Henry proposed to her so she could afford tuition.
They both lucked out with a win-win, and they have been married for 38 years. All four of their kids have attended NC State.
Mike and Karen Leonas dance at the State Mates event at the Park Alumni Center February 13, 2016. Mike, who finished his undergraduate degree in 1976 in civil engineering, and Karen, who finished her undergraduate degree in 1981 in textile chemistry, met at NC State as graduate students. Mike helped during the early stages of designing Centennial campus as part of his senior design project. After moving away for several years, the couple has returned to Raleigh and Karen is currently a professor in the College of Textiles.
