The wedding will take place in late April next year in Austin, Texas. In the meantime, Ms. Cowman plans to pursue research in a psychology laboratory, while Mr. Schetter continues his four-year term in the Navy. “I still feel lucky and I still have a huge crush on him,” Ms. Cowman says. —A.E.L.

Lauren A. Jacks ’05 and Keith D. Gamble ’03

The first chapter began in Kirkland House, and so will the next. In October 2002, a friend of Lauren A. Jacks ’05 on the cheerleading squad introduced her to Keith D. Gamble ’03 at a party in his Kirkland suite. It wasn’t quite love at first sight. “He never wears anything but Birkenstocks,” says Ms. Jacks. “But on our first date I know he was really nervous because he was dressed up.”

“We got through some rather awkward dates before we became really interested in and comfortable with the other,” she says. And the awkward dates panned out; the two dated for a year and a half and then Mr. Gamble proposed on Jan. 31, 2004 in San Francisco.

Yesterday, June 8, the day before Ms. Jacks’ graduation, the couple married in a civil ceremony in Kirkland House. The House masters, Tom and Verena Conley, will officiate. Both will change their last names to Jacks Gamble.

Ms. Jacks and Mr. Gamble says they opted for a small and simple ceremony. Family members and a few close friends will be present, but no bridesmaids or groomsmen. The couple will throw a larger celebration on June 25 in Memphis, Tenn., near Ms. Jacks’ family home in Byhalia, Miss.

Dating at Harvard was “hard,” according to the couple. And Ms. Jacks says that she and her fiancé, of Enterprise, Ala., share southern heritage that helped “establish a mutual interest.”

“We’re not sure how we lucked out,” she says. “There are so many wonderful people at Harvard, but so much social awkwardness thwarting the dating scene.”

Indeed, Ms. Jacks says that love has evaded many of her friends. And many are shocked to hear she had found love at Harvard. “Sometimes when people find out I’m engaged they pat my hand like I’ve just told them I have cancer,” she says.

But the couple hope that love has made them happier. “I have become a much healthier person in so many different aspects since falling in love. My [grades] became better each semester,” she says. “Whether it’s causation or correlation, regardless, love and academic or professional success are not mutually exclusive.”—A.M.L.

Veronica R. Heller ’05 and Mark R. Alfono

Veronica R. Heller ’05 met Mark R. Alfono in the summer of 2000, while both studied medieval history at the New Jersey Scholars Program, a camp based in Lawrenceville, N.J.

“Not a hotbed for romance,” Ms. Heller says dryly. (Ms. Heller plans to change her name to Ms. Alfono eventually.)