By Lauren Ofman
It’s the GW dream – meet your soulmate in Thurston, fall in love, find professional careers that align, get married, and live happily ever after. While this fantasy may seem unattainable, these alumni couples were able to make this dream a reality.
Rachel and Lee Licata met their freshman year at GW when they found themselves similarly situated on the fifth floor of Thurston Hall. They both made the move from South Jersey to D.C. and were introduced by a mutual friend. A few months later, they attended the same orientation.
“We were just friends at first and used to take the train home together (and have our parents carpool),” Rachel said, “By the Spring semester we were dating!”
Rachel and Lee spent their free time hanging out in the old dining hall under Thurston, grabbing drinks on M Street, and watching movies with the VCR Lee won from a raffle at orientation.
“We used to love to go to Lindy’s to get burgers and Coney Island,” Rachel said, “We went to many GW basketball games together at the Smith Center and a lot of nights out at Singapore Bistro, Ben and Mos, and Mai Thai.”
After graduating from GW in 2007, Rachel earned a Masters Degree in Public Health from Columbia University and Lee went to law school. The two got married in 2010 and were accompanied at the altar by three of their closest friends from GW.
The Licata’s currently live and work in D.C. and often find themselves visiting Foggy Bottom to reminisce. They are pleased with the plans to renovate Thurston Hall, which Rachel said already needed renovations back when she lived there in 2003.
“We try to watch as many basketball games as we can!” Rachel said. “[We] love coming back to campus to see all the changes and new development.”
The Licata’s story is basically a GW fairytale, and while many have experienced their own version of this, GW love stories take many forms.
Perhaps it was fate that caused Johnny and Rachel to meet in their Political Management class. Johnny had transferred to GW a year prior; he was a senior and Rachel was a sophomore.
“The majority of our grade was based off of a group project,” Rachel said. “So it was really important that you found your group, which was who you would spend the rest of the semester with.”
After receiving an invitation after class from one of Johnny’s friends, Rachel joined Johnny’s group.
“Rachel did a lot more work than I did in that group,” said Johnny as he described his senioritis.
Graduating at the peak of the recession, Johnny moved abroad to pursue foreign language study for nine months. Upon his return, he and Rachel reconnected during his layover in D.C.
“He was that kind of person that I realized was connected to me in some way,” Rachel said.
Their first kiss was at the airport when Rachel was awaiting her flight to study abroad in Spain and Johnny was headed back home to Chicago.
“Rachel was walking beside me as I went through security when we kissed and, no joke, people behind us clapped because they must’ve been able to hear that we were talking and felt connected,” Johnny said.
Johnny emailed Rachel every day while she was studying abroad her Junior year. They saw each other the day after she got back to the states.
“We immediately started dating and we’ve been together ever since,” Johnny said.
Now married with a one-year-old son, the two currently live on the East Coast. Despite only having a one year overlap at GW during Johnny’s senior year, Rachel said the timing helped them “grow up together.”
“You get to learn everything together about budgeting and managing time and you really build your post-college adult habits as a unit,” Rachel said.
Johnny and Rachel are happily married, yet, they acknowledge the hardships that they, along with many college graduates, faced when they did long distance.
“Communication is beyond key,” Rachel said. “Accept that it will be hard and there will be hard moments…if your foundation built on love and trust is a solid one, you’ll make it through no problem.”
Johnny said that “sharing the logistical burden” equally of who is visiting and when is extremely valuable. To a similar degree, he said that no partner should sacrifice to a point where they have “zero.” Neither partner should have to give up everything – family, work, hobbies, etc. – to be in the same place. Both should always have something to make them feel motivated and satisfied.
Johnny and Rachel may not visit campus often, but they do frequently recall the crazy Political Management course that allowed them to meet.
Although these two couples met at different times and their relationships unfolded in very different ways, they are equally as heartwarming and inspiring. As our campus expands and GW culture evolves, we can only hope for more GW love stories to keep our hopes high.
