Wright State President David Hopkins said that he felt the most important part of Valentine’s Day was recognizing and thanking those that mean the most. For him, they are his wife Angelia and his six children.
“It’s a time to really thank them for whatever way they have touched your life,” Hopkins said. “It’s a time to reflect and pause and be thankful for so much that so many of us have.”
Hopkins first met Angelia 32 year ago, when they were both working at the University of Texas. He said that her passionate approach to life, her beauty and their mutual recognition of the “important things” drew him to her.
“She had an amazing zeal and zest for life,” Hopkins said. “We had a lot in common about what we wanted to accomplish with our lives.”
Hopkins said that his position gave him and his wife the privilege to do many things together while representing and promoting the university.
“We do these things together, representing Wright State,” Hopkins said. “That’s a real privilege and a joy for us.”
Hopkins admitted that his duties as president are often overwhelming, and that the couple has gotten used to spending time together in the presence of others.
“We have tried to integrate our activities with the activities of the community and the university,” Hopkins said. “When we go out and do things it’s not the same as having this quiet time together, but I think we’ve gotten used to it.”
Though most evenings are booked with University events, Hopkins said he and his wife had a dinner reservation for Thursday evening, so he and Angelia could celebrate Valentines Day together.
“We’ll have the time by ourselves,” Hopkins said. “Just the two of us.”
Hopkins said that his wife reminds him of the things that are truly important in life when he is too focused on other things.
“She reminds me that I can get obsessed with my job occasionally,” Hopkins said. “While we love Wright State, and we love to do everything we can to make it a better place, most important is our relationship and our children.”
Valentine’s day holds a very special meaning to Andrew Macy and Micah Zavacky. One year ago from this Valentine’s Day was the first day that they called themselves a couple.
Macy and Zavacky sat side by side in the lobby of The Guardian, often directing quick smiles at one another and then back to the interviewer. They spoke as a team, each one building on to the story or description that the other began. They both seemed happy to tell their story.
Macy is a senior Accountancy major and works at the Writing Center. He is also a member of the Rainbow Alliance. Zavacky is a junior Art major and a member of the Drawing Club.
The couple met at Wright State through a mutual friend, and said that they had known each other for about a year before they started dating. The couple had been seeing each other for about a month before Zavacky asked Macy to “make it official.”
“I just asked him on Valentine’s Day because I didn’t want to wait,” Zavacky said.
Macy said he wasn’t surprised.
“I assumed he would ask that day,” Macy said.
As the couple’s relationship approaches the one year mark, they agreed that their busy lives as students has impacted the amount of time that they are able to spend with one another.
“We have a lot less time together because we are students,” Zavacky said. “We don’t have as much quality time because of the responsibilities.”
When they do find free time, the couple said they enjoy playing the card game Magic and the video game “Super Smash Brothers.” They also enjoy watching movies, drawing and going on walks. Zavacky lives in Dayton with his parents and Macy lives at the Province apartments.
Though Macy will be graduating at the end of the semester, the couple said that their relationship would carry on.
Macy plans on continuing with graduate school at Wright State. Zavacky will graduate after spring of 2014, and said that he plans on attending either Ohio University or Miami University (Ohio). Zavacky said the couple would probably move somewhere in between the two locations.
As for the future, Macy and Zavacky said that they were in for the long haul.
“We’ve talked about children, and stuff like that,” Macy said. “We’re hoping it will last forever.”
Freshman Stefan Mangroo and junior Sarah Eversole had known each other since their days at Franklin high school, but did not develop a romantic interest until “bumping into” one another at Wright State.
Mangroo and Eversole reconnected around a year ago, shortly before Mangroo was set to deploy to Afghanistan. His departure was delayed because of a medical problem, and the couple has been together ever since.
“I only came back to Wright State for two weeks because I was set to deploy,” Mangroo said. “That’s when I met her.”
Eversole is majoring in Early Childhood Education and Mangroo in Mechanical Engineering. Mangroo said that they are able to see each other frequently because they are both Wright State students.
Though Eversole referred to Valentine’s Day as “just another day,” the couple plans on celebrating the occasion with Mangroo’s brother and several others. Mangroo said that he preferred celebrating with a group of people rather than just two.
“We’re having a get together,” Mangroo said. “So it’s not just the two of us, and we incorporate a lot of people.”
The couple is bracing themselves for a big change, as Mangroo will be deployed to Afghanistan in eight months to a year. Eversole said that she was not yet sure how she felt about it.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Eversole said. “I don’t know how I feel about it.”
Though the relationship will soon become long distance, Mangroo seemed confident that it would last.
“We’ll probably stick together,” said Mangroo with a smile.
