From the start, Lisa (Dates) Price ’87, information systems and Dwayne Price ’87, information systems, ’87, seemed destined to become a couple.

They met on the first day of freshman orientation. Later, they were assigned to the same orientation team. And though they lived in different dorms freshman year (Dwayne in Patapsco; Lisa in in Susquehanna), they shared a circle of friends and a major.

Lisa acknowledges how her feelings for Dwayne began to change as she got to know him better that first semester. “Probably around October or November, I started to see Dwayne a little bit differently,” she recalls. “My relationship [with a former boyfriend] had gone the way most long distance relationships did. I started doing some reconnaissance to see what Dwayne’s situation might be.”

Though Dwayne was not in a committed relationship, Lisa waited some time before making her feelings known. She chose Valentine’s Day to make her move – sort of. A sorority on campus was selling homemade Valentine’s Cards, so she bought one and sent it to Dwayne, signing it, “Your Secret Admirer.”

Wayne was stumped. He asked his friends (including Lisa) who the secret admirer might be. She played dumb, for a while, but a month or so later, she confessed. That risky move turned out to be the turning point.

Their commitment was tested when Lisa received an opportunity to participate in a co-op through UMBC that extended from the summer through the following semester. It meant the two wouldn’t see each other regularly for several months. “It was part of us building the foundation for the rest of our lives,” Lisa says. (Dwayne later completed a co-op as part of his UMBC experience.)

To make up for lost time together, and lost credits, Lisa and Dwayne spent a summer together on campus, working and taking classes.

“You felt like you owned the campus,” Lisa recalls.

Dwayne concurs: “We had the whole campus to ourselves.”

Two years after graduation, they married. They also both decided to pursue master’s degrees in management information systems.

Over the years, the couple has remained highly involved in UMBC, serving on the alumni board in various capacities and offering advice to prospective students. Their two children – Devin, 20, and Layne, 18 – both attend UMBC.

“No one believes us, but we didn’t push them to go there. They could have gone anywhere they wanted, and they chose UMBC,” says Lisa.

Read the full issue of the Winter 2014 UMBC Magazine.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air! For all of us here at UMBC, it’s a great day to tell you, our donors, how much we appreciate you and all that you do for UMBC.

When you give to the University, you make it possible for our students to get the highest quality education. You ensure that our faculty and staff have the resources to do amazing things. You invest in a place that strives for greatness. And though that investment means more to us than words can convey, we still want to say thank you. So we asked a few of our faculty and staff to say thank you to a donor who has made a difference to them:

“We’re so appreciative of the support that Ken Pittman ’80, economics, gives to our university. He is generous with his time through his service on our alumni board, and he and his family regularly contribute to several of our scholarship funds. His willingness to give back helps make UMBC a great place.”

~Stanyell Bruce, Director of Alumni Relations, UMBC

“We are so grateful for Next Century’s support of this software engineering course. Their gift helps students learn about the fundamentals of Software Engineering and the software development lifecycle. The students are getting a great opportunity to work with a ‘real-life’ application, developing a student alert system. Next Century personnel are acting as ‘customers’ for this project, which gives students valuable training in working with real customers. The students are also going to present their project in Next Century’s offices and will get an experience of actual office/industry setting.”

~Karuna Joshi, Research Assistant Professor, UMBC

“Through his work as a student caller with UMBC’s Phonathon, Jordan, class of 2014, has done exceptional work on behalf of UMBC and the Meyerhoff program. He has had hundreds of conversations with alumni and parents, helping to secure many gifts for the  LaMont Toliver Alumni Memorial Scholarship. This fall, Jordan himself made a contribution to the LaMont Toliver Alumni Memorial Scholarship. I was really impressed by his leadership as a student and donor. UMBC’s students often give back of their time and talent, but it’s more rare for students to part with their hard-earned paychecks. Jordan’s commitment to helping future generations of UMBC students excel was a really moving act that leaves a lasting legacy in Mr. Toliver’s name.”

~Dayna Carpenter, Director of Annual Giving

Check out UMBC’s Donor Roll, where we say thank you to everyone who has supported us each year.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing some pictures of Retrievers who fell in love at UMBC. After all, Retriever Love is a beautiful thing! Click here to check out our album of individuals who have met and fallen in love at UMBC.

We also want to wish our alums a very happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for showing UMBC your love as you support us throughout the year.

If you have your own Retriever Love story, we’d love to hear about it! Please email us your story and a few pictures of you and your special UMBC soul mate at retrievernet@umbc.edu.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and we want to take a moment to tell you, our UMBC alumni, how much we <3 you! You are a huge part of what makes UMBC such a great place, and we couldn't be happier to be here working for you. Since we weren't able to get a Valentine for each and every one of you, we thought we might show our love by reminding you of some of the great alumni perks you're eligible for: Awesome Discounts: We’re all trying to save a little money, so be sure to take advantage of the great discounts we’ve found for you on things like insurance, car rentals and tuition. Find out more.

Handy Campus Resources: Need a new book to read? Come visit the library. Want to get in shape? Stop by the RAC. Thinking about changing jobs? Check in with the Career Services Center. Those great campus resources you enjoyed as a student are still here for you when you need them. Get all the details.

Interesting Publications: There’s always something going on at UMBC, and we’re bringing you the news through our magazine, blogs and websites. Read on.