Melissa Vargas ’21 and Alex Mertens ’18

A Colombiana and a Green Bay native were meant to be. We met at UCF almost 11 years ago through the LEAD Scholars program. We were friends for about three years, traveling to quite a few places across North America together, and started dating in March 2017. Over the years we added two furry additions to our family, Ziggy and Cookie. Travel continued to be a part of our love story, and we got engaged in January 2021 in Oahu, Hawaii. We decided to have a travel-themed destination wedding in Medellin, Colombia in January 2024. Our love continues to grow as we head into our second year of marriage!