Clarissa and Jacob

A man kisses a woman on the cheek.Each relationship has its mementos. For Clarissa Maldonado, BA’18 (Flor), and Jacob Huynh, BA’18, MAT’19 (Flor), his origami, her artwork and their shared notes are treasures. “We first met in Jacob’s suite. I walked in with friends, and he was just hanging out by his bed solving his Rubik’s Cube,” says Maldonado. “I thought he was so cute and so nerdy!” They didn’t talk much that day, but the attraction was there from the start. Right away, Huynh says, he loved how she was into art and music. The second week of the semester, Maldonado turned 18, and Huynh gifted her a small, handmade origami penguin, the first of many origami trinkets he’d make for her. As their relationship developed, so did their other friendships, forming lasting bonds. After eloping, the couple had a big celebration with friends and family. “One of our best friends from FDU was our officiant!” says Maldonado. The couple “used to pretend” that a grassy area near Reuter’s Rock was their backyard. “We’d daydream about what our life would be like in the future,” says Huynh.