Love Is in the Air: Matches Made at NJIT
They all came to NJIT for their education, but wound up moving on with more than their degree. While some knew they had met “the one” during their time at the university, others came to this life-changing realization soon after graduating.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, these alumni couples share their stories of meeting and matrimony.
Roseann George and Jaison Eapen: Surmounted Conflicting Schedules and Different States
Roseann (née George) ’15 (electrical engineering) and Jaison Eapen ’13, ’14 M.S. (chemical engineering) met at a Rutgers University-Newark event and started dating in January 2013. Because their schedules conflicted, however, their early courtship involved many late-night dates that included taco and sushi dinners and even trips to the grocery store.
“Our dates might not have been the most romantic, but spending time with her was all that mattered to me, and I knew that I just wanted to do this for the rest of my life,” said Jaison, an international pharmaceutical investigator for the Food and Drug Administration.
Roseann, who was an out-of-state student, remembers Jaison driving her to see her family when she felt homesick. He also made sure she ate well during finals week, and quickly became her biggest supporter. After college, when they were working in different states, he frequently made the 10-hour round trip to see her.
“He proposed to me during a Giants football game, and that’s when I knew he loved me more than football!” laughed Roseann, an electrical engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The two married in New Jersey in May 2018, with NJIT roommates and friends in attendance — some in their bridal party as well. While they’re grateful to have found one another while at NJIT, they both also cherish the friendships they made.
“They have been there for us throughout different stages in our lives, and we’re thankful to have them!” Roseann said.
Erika Taugher and Scott Rietze: Soccer Soul Mates
Although they met in August 2005 during NJIT’s soccer preseason, Erika Taugher ’08, ’09 M.S. (mechanical engineering, international business) and Scott Rietze ’10 (biology) started dating nearly four-and-a-half years later — after Erika graduated and Scott was in the midst of his last semester. They found they had a lot in common off the soccer field.
“Once I got to know more about Scott, I learned how much he loves animals, how intelligent he is and how funny he is,” said Erika, a star soccer and Honors College alumna. “While we were in college, we definitely appreciated the fact that we had similar backgrounds and also that we both had a strong passion for other activities as well, like skiing and tennis.”
“Well, it made it a lot easier knowing she was also Canadian!” added Scott, who works in financial market risk for Motiva Enterprises LLC, a refinery and wholly owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco. “Not many people have endured the climate in Canada, so it would have been an extreme challenge to convince her to visit!
“I’ve never met anybody who has so much empathy and so much love for everyone she comes across,” he noted of Erika. “She has taught me to always strive to be the best version of myself. That makes me think how lucky I am to have her in my life.”
As students at NJIT, Erika enjoyed being a resident assistant and teaching assistant, and exploring Newark and nearby New York City, in addition to playing soccer. Scott looks back fondly on being a member of the student-athlete body and the friendships he formed with his teammates and classmates, as well as the many resources the university offers that he says “ensures every student has the opportunity to succeed.”
When the couple married this past October in Toronto, among the guests were Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan and NJIT President Joel S. Bloom and Diane Bloom. “We had an incredible time at our wedding with so many college friends,” Erika said. “We had a ton of our NJIT teammates there with us, who flew up to Canada from all over the U.S.”
Karisa Solt and Tom Schreck: Capstone Leads to Courtship
Karisa (née Solt) ’04 (biomedical engineering with a minor in applied chemistry) and Tom Schreck ’03 (computer science and mathematics) met through the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at NJIT. But it would be several years later in a capstone course on Arthurian literature, when Tom was a senior and Karisa a junior, that they began to get to know one another.
“When I walked into class the first time, Tom was the only person I knew, so I sat next to him,” Karisa remembered. Tom recalled they’d whisper to each other in class and that Karisa, who is “terrible at whispering,” would occasionally be reprimanded by the professor for the disruption.
They started dating after Tom graduated and moved to Maryland, with long phone chats buoying that first year of their relationship. As Tom built his career in software engineering, Karisa pursued her M.D. and Ph.D. in neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She completed her residency in neurology at Hopkins, followed by a fellowship in neuro-oncology under a joint program between Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health. She is now a neuro-oncologist at the former, both caring for patients with brain cancer and conducting research toward developing new treatments for the disease. Tom is at Jacobs Engineering Group, working in information security with big data.
“Tom did a lot to support me through medical school. I really appreciated his logical approach to life and his sense of humor, [and still do!]” Karisa said.
“Karisa is fun to be around and smart,” noted Tom. “She complements me in many ways and we make a great team.”
The couple wed in July 2006 and today lives outside Baltimore with their three children. NJIT not only brought them together, it also left them with many wonderful memories — from varsity soccer road trips and sharing experiences with other students in the Honors College lounge for Karisa, to RA meetings and floor activities in Laurel Hall and Distinguished Professor Lou Kondic’s math classes for Tom.
