This is the story of a boy and a girl who hit it off right from Foundations week. Love at first sight? Maybe, Maybe not, but it was definitely the brewing of some chemistry.
The boy: Jeremy Snyder
Jeremy worked for a software company in Austin, Texas prior to Thunderbird and after spent some time working in London that he decided he wanted to pursue an international MBA. Also, If you all remember Jeremy was the star of the Reggaetton Contest we held during the recent Americas Regional Night.
The girl: Sara Dallaire
Sara is originally from Quebec, Canada and grew up in Hong Kong and Singapore. Her Dad works in international insurance and is on the Thunderbird Global Council. After attending Pepperdine University, she moved to NYC and worked at Tiffany & Co. for almost nine years in the Public Relations and Marketing department. It was like a dream job (Sara even had a very brief cameo in the engagement scene of the movie Sweet Home Alabama filmed at Tiffany’s) but she was ready for a change and a family friend had suggested Thunderbird. The international appeal of the school made it the perfect place for her.
Some may call it destiny.
How the story unravels as told by Jeremy.
Sara and I met because we were in the same cohort when we came to school. We initially met at a meeting pre-foundations that our group organized in the old pub. When we initially began talking to one another, there was an immediate connection. (One of our friends, Matt Gottesman, says he saw it right away and realized he had been cut out of the conversation, because we were completely interested in one another.) Over the next few weeks and months we spent every class, and most of our time out of class, with each other. (It is interesting to note that we ended up taking all of our classes together over the two years we were here. Not intentionally, but rather we were interested in the same things.) We started officially dating somewhere around the end of October or early November.
We signed up to attend the India winterim together, as well as the Peru and Prague modules. We signed up to live together for all of those trips, thinking that if we don’t kill one another, its a pretty good sign for our relationship. Needless to say we didn’t kill each other and actually learned a lot about each other. We did not tell our classmates that we were dating for a long time, but people began to notice that there was something different. I think it is safe to say everyone knew by the time we started out second year.
The proposal: We had decided to take a romantic trip to Sedona for a delayed birthday present for Sara. I had bought the ring, but had not completely worked out where and when it would happen. I took it with us to Sedona thinking there may be a good place to do it while there. We decided to go for a hike the next day and I realized I could not put the ring in the safe without her asking about it, and I didn’t want to leave it sitting around in our room while we were gone, so I took it with us.
As it turned out, I found a vista with a great view on our hike and decided on our return trip, I would do it there. When we returned after a couple of hours (I started getting really nervous, thinking ‘This IS happening!’), I asked Sara to take a couple pictures of me with my camera (something very normal with all of our travels and being together all the time). When she had taken 2-3, I said to come a little closer and take one more. While she was checking the settings on the camera, I bent down and pulled out the ring.
When she went to look through the view finder, she found me on my knee asking her to marry me. She immediately started laughing nervously, but then exclaimed ‘Of course!’. We proceeded to go back to the hotel for champagne and a celebration.
These two are known by their cohort and classmates to throw some of the best parties and get together bashes of the batch. They are both very social and enjoy spending time with fellow T-birds! Jeremy and Sara have hosted a welcome back party each Tri. Their most recent party was by far the most fun! The two hosted a St. Patrick’s day party where everyone came wearing green and had various games planned throughout the day and of course, the presence green beer!
There are some things in life that happen when we least expect it, we have to take that leap and follow our heart courageously in pursuit of our desires. We, the Thunderbird community would like to wish you both all the best for the future.
A special thanks to Kinjal Gandhi for introducing me to this lovely Thundercouple.