This post was written by Jolene Ashcraft, Head of Marketing, Texas McCombs MBA Programs.

This Valentine’s Day, we checked in with some of our MBA alumni who found love at McCombs and have tied the knot in the last year. Find out how they met and what they’re up to now.

Michelle Sutton ’16 and Javier Armenteros ’16

Wedding Date: October 21, 2017

Wedding Location: Chapel Hill, NC

How We Met: By chance, we were seated next to each other at the MBA Orientation Banquet on our very first day of the program, but we did not get to know each other well until our second semester when we traveled to Park City, Utah on the Graduate Business Adventure Team (GBAT) Ski Trip and then to South Africa as part of the McCombs Global Connections Study Tour program.

Currently: We live in Dallas, TX, where Michelle is an Associate Brand Manager at Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and Javi is an Associate Finance Manager at PepsiCo Frito Lay. We are both proud Longhorns and are involved in MBA recruiting for our respective companies.

“We loved having such a strong contingent of McCombies at our wedding!”

Christie Sutton ’15 and Patrick McConnell ’15

Wedding Date: October 14, 2017

Wedding Location: San Francisco, CA (We originally planned for Healdsburg in Sonoma County, but due to the Northern California fires, we made a last minute move to San Francisco with the help of many of our McCombs friends.)

How We Met: We met in Austin during one of the McCombs Adventure Program (MAP) Day Trips, which take place before school officially begins. We sat next to each other on the bus to the wine tasting tour in Fredericksburg, TX and were friends from the start.

Currently: We currently live in San Francisco, CA and both work at Apple. Christie works in market development for the Corporate Retail division, and Pat works as a program manager on the new product launch team.

Christie and Pat with MBA classmates at their wedding

Faraha Kukkady ’16 and Anirudh Kasbekar ’16

Wedding Date: October 14, 2017

Wedding Location: The Wild Onion Ranch in Manchaca, TX (Just south of Austin)

How We Met: We met through mutual friends at Yellowstone National Park before we had even applied to business school. Against the backdrop of the gushing geysers and breathtaking landscapes, we discussed the GMAT and hit it off! We maintained a coast to coast relationship thereafter, and McCombs gave us the opportunity to be together by extending an offer of admission to both of us – the rest is history!

Currently: We live in Austin, TX and both work in Product Management at Dell Technologies.

Faraha and Rudy with classmates and Assistant Dean, Tina Mabley, who officiated the ceremony

Ruth Stedman ’16 and Javier Marriott ’16

Wedding Date: February 3, 2018

Wedding Location: New Orleans, LA

How We Met: We met at a pool party during Orientation at Javier’s building. Soon after that we started dating and bonding over our fondness for breakfast tacos and dogs.

Currently: We split time between Ecuador and Austin, TX. Ruth is the Co-Founder and CEO of a new Austin startup A Pup Above, a company that’s on a mission to bring transparency to dog food and improve the overall quality of what we feed our pups. Javier is the COO of the MARRIOTT GROUP ECUADOR, a holding company that’s involved in retail, wholesale, distribution, real estate development, and project management. Javier is also a Co-Founder of A Pup Above and serves as Chief Growth Officer and Director for the company.

The Texas McCombs MBA contingent celebrating with Ruth and Javier in New Orleans

Javier and Ruth with their dog Lola for @apupabove/

Mallika Swaminathan ’16 and Kunal Khanna ’17

Wedding Date: June 4, 2017

Wedding Location: Austin, TX

Going to Business School Together: We were together before business school, but we loved our time at McCombs and would do it all over again if we could!

Currently: Mallika is a Senior Consultant at Deloitte, based out of Austin, TX, while Kunal is an Associate at Lazard in Houston, TX.

McCombs friends celebrating Mallika & Kunal’s Big Day

Cecilia Laseter ’15 and Charles Leonard ’15

Wedding Date: October 14, 2017

Wedding Location: Charlottesville, VA

How We Met: We met in our hometown of Charlottesville because a mutual friend realized that we both had plans to move to Austin to attend McCombs. We were introduced just a few weeks before we both moved, so when we arrived in Austin, we knew at least one person to hang out with. Our dogs got along too, so it just worked. We got engaged in the mountains north of Banff, married in Cville, and honeymooned in Switzerland, France, and Italy.

Currently: We live in Austin, TX, where Ceci is a Senior Program Manager at Whole Foods, and Charlie is a Director of Cybersecurity Risk & Strategy at PwC.

Charlie & Ceci throwing up the Horns during their travels