Alumni Love Stories
It’s a tale as old as time, and perhaps one you’ve experienced yourself: Two students meet on the Mount campus, fall in love, and get married. These alumni-submitted stories celebrate the many relationships that have blossomed at the Mount over the years, and the families that have lived happily ever after as a result.
Julianna DeBellis Kimbark
Class of 2015, 2018 and Brian 2015, 2018
This is my favorite fairytale, Daniel: The story of how your parents met.
Once upon a time, spring classes began at Mount Saint Mary College in January 2013. On that cold morning, a curly-haired boy skateboarded into class with a bright blue MSMC sweatshirt on. Once he was there, he glanced over at a fellow classmate, sitting front and center. The girl looked back up at him, from her perfectly organized binder, and they shared a quick smile.
From that very first Education class, these two became inseparable friends. They worked on every project together, every assignment, every reading, and when the opportunity arose to carpool to fieldwork, he made the move and asked for her cell phone number. She agreed. The two now drove all over Newburgh and southern Dutchess County for fieldwork together.
Their senior year came, and the two finally started dating, just in time for student teaching. They, of course, had to teach in the same school district so that they could be on the same schedule with each other. They graduated from the Mount in 2015 with their BA degrees and immediately went to work, her in Dutchess County and him at Bishop Dunn, as elementary school teachers. They also immediately began their graduate studies at the Mount. While completing their graduate degrees, they became engaged and were later married at the Dominican Center chapel, the same place her parents were married almost 30 years earlier.
They graduated with their MSEd degrees in 2018. In 2020, they found their forever home in the district where they both currently teach and adopted a very big dog. And in 2021, they welcomed their most precious blessing of all: YOU, Daniel David. Now, along with you, Daniel, they are living happily ever after.
Brian Carrington
Class of 1975 and Denise 1974
Denise ‘74 and Brian ’75, were both looking for a ride back home to the Waterbury, Conn. area sometime in 1971. Susan Charbonneau Atkins ‘75 always had a car, as her family owned a car dealership. All three were graduates of Sacred Heart High School in Waterbury. Brian knew Susan, but not Denise, in high school, as he likes to say, “because Denise is a year older than me, so we were in different classes.”
For some reason, during the ride home, Denise thought Brian was funny with the stories he told, and upon returning to the MSMC Campus after the weekend, Denise pursued Brian.
Now, 51 years later, (47 married plus four college years), they are actively enjoying retirement, traveling, and trying to stay healthy.
The best part of our story is that Denise gave Brian the gift of life, on August 6, 2003, by donating a kidney to him! Twenty years later, Brian still calls and will always call Denise his “miracle.”
Who would have thought that this all started on the campus of MSMC. Think of the faith and fate involved for all of this to come together.
Thanks to my miracle, Denise, and special thanks to Susan, who we still see, for “getting the wheels turning,” so to speak!
Melinda Canary
Class of 2010, 2012 and Joe 2012, 2013
We met in the Aquinas Dining Room in 2008. He worked in the cafeteria serving dinner his senior year in high school when I was already a Mount student. We first said we loved each other in front of CC9. We got married in the chapel in 2018 and the majority of our bridal party were also Mount grads.
Ariana (Marcello) Giammarusco
Class of 2016 and Stephen 2015
I met Stephen my Sophomore year, his Junior year. We got married in 2021 and are currently living in Connecticut. We are grateful that the Mount brought us together!