Love On Campus: Nadine and Ryan
Our Social Media Assistant Nadine met the love of her life Ryan here at UoN, and you know us we can’t resist a graduate romance story.
What course did you study and when did you graduate?
Nadine: English and Film and Screen joint honours and we both graduated July 2016.
Ryan: I studied Graphic Communication and graduated in July 2016.
You guys obviously met at UoN but can you tell us a little bit more, was it love at first sight?
Nadine: The short story is we met in Bassett Lowke halls on Avenue campus. Someone on my course was Ryan’s flatmate, so I was invited over to hang out for pre-drinks. On our nights out Ryan and I would talk a lot, but nothing really progressed until he asked if I wanted to see a film with him at the cinema at the end of October. After that we went out for dinner or had a pizza and movie night every weekend until the day before we were going home for Christmas, where we decided we were basically in a relationship already! It wasn’t love at first sight, but I was so interested in everything I learnt about him in the first few weeks.
Ryan: We met in the first week of Freshers as one of my housemates did the same subject as Nadine and invited her to a flat party. My whole flat used to play drinking card games which was great, especially when Nadine came round as it would give me the opportunity to get to know her more. Eventually I plucked up the courage to ask her to see a film with me and we have been inseparable since. I don’t know if I would say it was love at first sight but I definitely fancied her and wanted to get to know her more.
At what point did you realise he/she is the one?
Nadine: Probably during our first summer between first and second year, when we’d get the train to visit each other for a few days and I couldn’t wait to see him.
Ryan: After being together the whole first year, she became my best friend. We spent a lot of time together; even if it we had course work to do. I think after the first year was over and it was summer I would say that I believed she is the one.
What lessons in life and love did you learn in your time studying with us?
Nadine: Patience was a big thing I learnt, both for life and love. With so many deadlines between us for our course, we knew we couldn’t go out and do amazing things all the time on a student budget and with the amount of work we had.
Ryan: I learnt how to become independent, fend for myself and meet deadlines for my design work. Taking on these challenges with Nadine was difficult as we had to prioritise our time accordingly, but we managed to work though it efficiently and still have fun in the process.
What is your best university of Northampton story/ memory?
Nadine: My favourite memory is the time that Ryan, myself and our friends dressed up as The Incredibles for a Superhero party in town and we won best costume and received a bottle of bubbly (which didn’t last long!). The costumes were so easy to make, we just stapled the Incredibles logos onto red tops, wore black pants over our leggings and wore a face mask. I still think we looked soooo awesome.
Ryan: I don’t know if this is my best university story but it is one of my fondest university memories. During first year freshers we all attended a Smurf party and went all out with costumes and painting ourselves blue. Only…we didn’t go to the right destination. To say we got some funny looks was an understatement. It was like the episode of Only Fools and Horses where Del Boy and Rodney go to the funeral dressed as Batman and Robin. We ended up staying there anyway and had a great night.
What are your favourite things about each other?
Nadine: It’s the cheesiest thing in the world to say and every couple claims it, but he honestly makes me laugh every single day. I also like the things that make us opposite to each other- Ryan’s really calm and will look at both sides of a story, whereas I can react quite quickly to situations so he’s often there to balance me out.
Ryan: Two of my many favourite things are her confidence and caring nature. Her confidence is contagious and allows those around her, including me, to be confident too. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without her helping me believe in myself and not worry about what others think. Nadine also puts everyone’s needs and problems above her own and is always there to offer a helping hand.
What are your plans for the future?
Nadine: While working in jobs that we love, we’re saving up for a house as we’re currently living with my parents. Even though a house is definitely our next step, we’re still making sure that we are creating experiences such as having adventures or going to see West Ends shows.
Ryan: We’re currently saving almost everything we can right now as we’d love to move in a place of our own within the next few years. Other than that, who knows what the future holds but I do know that I have found my lifelong best friend.
