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Andrea and Troy first met during freshman year of high school. Troy had heard about Andrea through one of her basketball teammates and struck up a conversation on Instagram. Immediately, the two hit it off and found several common interests including American history, sports, and foreign cuisine.

After high school graduation, Troy set off for the Naval Academy and Andrea stayed close to home at the University of Georgia. During Troy’s plebe summer (basic training at the Naval Academy), the two exchanged letters to keep each other motivated through a new chapter in their lives. Oddly enough, they remained only friends - often coming to one another for relationship and career advice.

Years passed, and Andrea moved to New York City to begin medical school. Before deploying to Japan, Troy made sure to visit Andrea and the two explored the city, spending hours in Washington Square Park people-watching and daydreaming about what the future might hold.

In February of 2020, Troy returned home between military tours and visited Andrea also at home in Georgia while she studied for medical board exams. Something felt different about this visit. Though they didn’t tell each other at the time, both were wondering if it made sense to take a shot at a romantic relationship. But unfortunately, the Covid pandemic took the world by surprise, sending Troy back to Japan on a very strict lockdown aboard his ship at sea. As Andrea finished her board exams and prepared her residency applications, she worried what would happen if she and Troy never gave their love a chance. The pandemic had especially shown how suddenly life could change, and she didn’t want to commit to a 5 year residency in a city far away from Troy. She nervously typed out an email (their only form of communication while Troy was at sea) admitting that she wanted to be wherever Troy was. Troy agreed.

The two landed in the DMV - Troy as a legislative fellow in Washington, DC and Andrea as a resident physician in Baltimore. After a year in the same city for the first time since they were high schoolers, Troy popped the question at a surprise art gallery showing in front of friends and family.