Lauren Hodges ’04 and Daniel Hodges ’03

Daniel and I met in a Burnett Honors College symposium called Caribbean Literature and Politics. I was starting my junior year as an English major, and he was beginning his senior year as a finance major. I took the class for the literature; he was in it for the politics. If it weren’t for that symposium, we never would have met.

We partnered for a project and made jerk chicken, and I knew this was more than just a cute guy. He knew I taught spin classes at what was then the brand-new Recreation Center, so he took a class with a friend. It was more intense than he expected, and he had to leave early feeling sick. I followed to check on him, and I guess his strategy worked — because he got a date.

We’ve been together ever since. I returned to UCF for my doctorate, graduating in 2011, and I fondly remember bringing toys and a play mat into the library quiet rooms while working on my dissertation and starting our family. Today, we have two boys, ages 15 and 16, have been married 21 years, and have attended most home football games — and many away games — ever since. If it weren’t for our alma mater, we wouldn’t have the life we have now. Charge On!