N: I remember first seeing Andrew when I was walking into the library at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I thought, "He's cute!" but he was clearly going somewhere, and we didn't talk.

A: My first memory of Nimah was seeing her when I was walking out of the library. Maybe it was the same moment?

N: The next time I saw Andrew was at an afterparty for an event that I didn't even attend. My friend and I heard there was going to be free food and beer, so we followed the crowd there. I was chatting in a little group when my friend told me they needed a haircut. Another person chimed in and said they knew someone who cut hair, and actually he’s standing right there behind me. When I saw it was Andrew, I was like, "There's that guy again. Nice!"

A: When a friend called my name and waved me over, I immediately noticed Nimah standing across the circle. I was so delighted to have the chance to make a formal introduction, so I made a point to extend a friendly handshake and my very original opener: "Hi, I'm Andrew."

N: A day or so later, I did what all millennials do and followed him on Instagram in the spirit of graduate collegiality.

A: A few days after that, I sent Nimah a Facebook message. Her name kept coming up in conversations—one of which was with our officiant Andy, who was in a class with Nimah—and I figured enough was enough. I'd heard her name too many times to not reach out. I asked if she wanted to meet up for coffee and dropped a casual “Oh, and here’s my number…”.

N: I responded with three texts sent in rapid succession. Since then, I've told Andrew I wasn't sure if he was trying to "network me," which happens a lot in graduate school. People want to know if you're important or connected, so they have an exploratory conversation. Little did he know, I had spent the previous year being a barista at a coffee shop, and my only connection with movers and shakers was shouting "Quad shot espresso, to-go!" at San Francisco tech executives.

A: I mean, was I hoping for a romantic spark? Of course! Though I really was interested in just getting to know her more over a warm beverage.

N: When the day for our networking meeting/date came, I got off the train at the Harvard Square station and saw Andrew walking. I didn’t want to creepily follow him to the coffee shop so I tried to get his attention.

A: My memory of that cold Monday morning is hearing a voice in the distance calling my name. Once we scurried over to each other, Nimah gave me a really good hug, which is something that carries a lot of weight in my book. Cute? Check. Good hugger? Check. Driven, motivated, curious, artistic, etc.? Checks galore.

N: We got our drinks and found seats at a high-top at Tatte Cafe. I knew pretty soon after we started talking that he wasn't a weird Ivy League guy who would immediately request me on LinkedIn after this date. In fact, it took a pleasantly long time for us to connect on LinkedIn.

A: After sharing some laughs and learning more about each other's lives before grad school, we walked back to campus and made plans to get together later that week. It means the world to me that we're still making plans together.

N: Same here. Best networking coffee chat I ever had.