Alumni Valentines: Did you meet your true love at Binghamton?
Celebrate the season with these alumni love stories...

How did you meet?
When Allen and Robye met at a party just before Allen's graduation she knew he seemed familiar. When she went back to her journal from freshman year she realized that they had met before, just randomly at the Pub. He knew all of her friends; they just did not know each other.

What were your first impressions of each other?
They started seeing each other as soon as they met. They just had a great time together. It was comfortable.

Did you encounter any roadblocks to romance?
Allen graduated about a month after they met and moved to New York City. He, unfortunately, had the task of taking the bus to Binghamton on weekends to visit Robye during her senior year.

Where was your first date?
Their first date was for lunch at Scandals restaurant, which is no longer in business. It was just off campus near the current site of WICZ TV. Even though Allen only had $5 in his pocket, he still managed to pay for lunch (on his credit card).

What were your favorite hangouts on campus?
The Pub, which, sadly, is no more…

When were you married?
1998

Do you have children?
Yes, Jack will be 3 in April and their second child is due any day.

How did you meet?
We met at Wegmans and quickly realized that we were both in the MBA program at BU.

What were your first impressions of each other?
Dave thought I was cute. I was impressed by his directness and sense of humor.

Did you encounter any roadblocks to romance?
If living at home, working and going to classes aren't roadblocks to romance, I don't know what is.

Where was your first date?
We went to Friendly's in Johnson City. It was a beautiful summer night, and we went out for coffee.

What were your favorite hangouts on campus or off campus?
We spent a lot of time at Dave's house between classes. We were able to make it from his house to campus in 7 minutes flat.

When were you married?
We were married four years to the day of our first date, June 10, 1995.

Do you have children?
Yes, Peter is seven and Nick is five. They love the University and can't wait to attend when they grow up.
Romance of Michelle (Tuman) and Glenn Engelmann, both '77
Glenn and I met in 1975 through mutual friends when we were sophomores at Binghamton. We can't remember exactly when we first laid eyes on each other, but by the time of our first date we had hung out together with a group of friends many times. The first time Glenn asked me out, he had come to my dorm room to copy notes from a psych class he had missed. The prof. went off on this weird tangent on turkey mating habits that day, so it was a little embarrassing. He asked me to go to a jazz concert on campus that weekend. After that we spent as much time together as we could, for the summer would soon be arriving to interfere with our romance. Glenn lived on Long Island, about 45 minutes away from where I lived in Brooklyn, but we still managed to see each other every weekend. First semester of junior year was even more difficult--he went to D.C. while I stayed in Binghamton. We got married on April 12, 1981, six years after we started going out, following another long separation when I went to graduate school in NYC and he went to law school in Chicago. We have three wonderful children: Rachel, aged 20; Jason, aged 16; and Harris, aged 14. And we are still very much in love after all these years!
Jim Fowler '96 and Heather Mackey Fowler '99


What were your first impressions of each other?
Heather saw Jim on stage at a Binghamton Crosby's show and loved him at first sight. She went to all the Crosby's shows and almost drove her roommate crazy freshman year.

Jim was attracted to Heather but because he was a senior he didn't want to be “one of those guys” who went after freshman girls.

How did you meet?
They met at a DC Players show party and became friends. They continued as friends for a few years, keeping in touch with various activities.

Did you encounter any Roadblocks to Romance?
Both Jim and Heather were dating other people during the years that they were friends. In fact, Heather was dating someone until the middle of her senior year.

Jim was working in the Admissions office and although they had an employer – employee relationship, they were finally free at the same time, and began dating during the second semester of Heather's senior year.

What were your favorite hangouts on campus?
Dickinson Dining Hall
Administration Office
The Watter's Lobby

When were you married?
September 1, 2001. Jim and Heather stay involved in Binghamton University through recruiting events both on a local level and throughout the country as they try to combine their own travel schedules with scheduled events. They believe that it's important to stay involved in the University, and feel that even the small things can make a difference.

Robert and Deborah (Upton) Greenberger, both '80

How did you meet?
Bob moved into my dorm, O'Connor Hall, during our sophomore year to be near his girlfriend and the Pipe Dream office. She lived on my floor so I got to see him now and again, a fleeting figure.

What were your first impressions of each other?
He was sweet and just a little goofy. He helped me get rid of a wasp in my room, but wouldn't kill it. So he very cautiously caught it and released it outside. She was quiet, a little shy but very pleasant to be around. Her pixie haircut caught my eye.

Did you encounter any roadblocks to romance?
Our then current significant others certainly kept us from noticing each other except as friends. We certainly got along well and enjoyed each other's company in group settings. Once he and his girlfriend broke up after sophomore year, I was still dating other guys, including a friend of his. He made his interest clear but the timing was never right. Bob floundered, dating girls once or twice but never getting committed....as if he was waiting. Eventually we gave into the inevitability of it all, though, and started dating.

Where was your first date?
We consider our first official date fall of junior year even though I was still sort of involved elsewhere. We took the bus to see "Grease" at the Oakdale Mall, which Bob hated, then went dancing at the Scotch and Sirloin, which used to be up the hill behind Vestal Plaza. In the spring, we went away together on Spring Break as just friends but the time alone let us really get to know one another and things blossomed quickly. We returned to campus a couple and our circle of friends looked at us and said, "Finally!"

What were your favorite hangouts on campus or off campus?
Bob was spending ridiculous hours at Pipe Dream. I was involved first at the campus Computer Center then working at nearby Singer Link. So, our time together was meals in the dining halls with our friends but just-us-time seemed to be catch-as-catch-can. We hung in the dorm or with friends at the pub. We also took advantage of a lot of the theatre performances on campus and other events. He got me to do more campus activities than I would have otherwise.

When were you married?
We got engaged Easter weekend junior year and then married shortly after graduation in 1980.

Do you have children?
Yes, a college freshman, Kate, and a high school junior, Robbie. Both have been back to campus with us and saw where it all began.


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