It was the first day of class in January 1985. Trina had a Jazz Survey class in one of the big lecture halls. The class was full and there was only one empty seat next to her all the way at the top. The only seat left, Gerald’s friend ended up sitting next to Trina. The next day Gerald came early and sat next to her too. They became instant friends and passed notes every day during class.

“The Shire, Fat Glenn’s, University Center 3rd floor, Rascal House, the library, Mather Mansion and more were our hangouts. We dated for three months, but then broke up because I wasn’t ready to be serious,” Trina said. “Gerald said I put him in the ‘friend zone.'”

The two stayed best friends for seven years. They would talk on the phone, go to an occasional matinee movie and bump into each other at various social occasions. He always made her laugh.

“Finally in 1992, we reconnected after our failed marriages to other people. We both decided it was time to finish our degrees at CSU together,” she said. “I was an associate degree RN who worked nights and would sleep on the couches in the Green Room and Gerald would page me to wake up and go to class.”

They remember going to class in sub-zero temperatures, the endless circling of the campus for a parking spot and the quarterly task of scheduling the right classes to graduate.

In January 1993, Trina and Gerald decided to officially date again and have been together ever since. Everyone knew they were meant for each other.

Trina graduated in 1994 with a BA in Communication and Gerald in 1995 with a BA in Business Management/Labor Relations. They feel that if they didn’t have each other, they never would have graduated.

They got married in 1996 and have three biological children and have fostered 12 others. They often still reminisce about first meeting in Jazz Survey.

“Everyone who knows us knows our story about meeting at CSU. It has been a great ride, raising a family, traveling and growing up together the last 32 years and we are looking forward to many more,” Trina said.