Elise is a 22-year-old archaeologist from Jacksonville, Florida. She graduated from Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, and recently finished up her bachelor's degree in anthropology from Northwestern University.
Jim is a 27-year-old chemist from Southborogh, Massachusetts. He graduated from St. Mark's School in Southborough and from Williams College in Williamstown, MA. Jim is currently finishing up his PhD at Northwestern.
Jim and Elise met in fall 2006 at a beginning of the year church barbeque at Northwestern. At the time, Elise was a sophomore in college and Jim was a second-year grad student. Neither of them is entirely sure how they got to talking, but they did, and Elise immediately thought of how cute Jim was and what a fun time she was having talking to him. She assumed that they probably wouldn't see each other again much after that, given the age difference. But soon after, she saw his name on a sign up for IM volleyball, and thought that it would be a good opportunity to both play a sport and get to know Jim better.
They spent the fall gradually getting to know each other, mainly through disastrous volleyball games. Elise had soon discovered that IM volleyball was a little bit more competitive and fierce than the beach variety she was used to, and perfected the art of the "duck and cover" every time the ball came her way. Each week the team would go out to dinner afterwards in the dining hall, where Jim discovered the perks of having an undergraduate friend- plenty of free meals.
By October, Elise had developed a huge crush on Jim, but still wasn't sure how he felt. Later that month, they went hiking with a group of friends, and Elise began to gather that Jim liked her as well. But he still hadn't asked her out! During this same time, Elise was also busy writing an article for the church newsletter, and a friend suggested she interview Jim. Glad of an excuse to see him again, they went out for coffee, obstensibly so she could interview him, but in reality they spent most of the time talking about everything else. At the end of their coffee "pre-date," Jim finally worked up the courage to ask Elise out. They finally went on their first date on Friday, November 3, 2006.