Being told to crawl through the window because the passenger door was broken could have ended Corinne Bowers’ budding relationship with Andrew Morton. Especially when he laughed when she did just that and fell into his parents’ minivan. The door worked just fine.
As it turns out, they had a short run as high school sweethearts. Then came college: She left for Boston, and he went to the University of Virginia. A long-distance romance blossomed, and Andrew knew the Class of 2013 graduates were destined to be together when she “endured a cancelled flight, a snowstorm and a 14-hour train ride for a date in Charlottesville.”
Over the past three decades, the daily life of high school prompted many students to find more than just college preparation. Some found love in the classroom, while others reconnected after collecting their diplomas. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we look at a few of the love taps that Cupid’s arrows have made within the halls of Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School.
“It was clear to me from the first open house that I could expect quite a lot from this particular school,” said Bridget Ellis, ’03. “I can’t say true love was on my wish list, but like-minded people certainly were – and I found them in droves.”
Early meetings in the classroom
During her senior year, Bridget found herself seated next to Marion Harris in AP English Literature. Bridget remembers Marion smirking after she walked into class and kicked a chair one day because she was fuming at her then-boyfriend.
The two became friends and stayed in touch as they headed off to college, re-connecting in Richmond after freshman year. That led to a date at Mom’s Siam on Cary Street. “Personally, I had no expectations for finding anything at MLWGSGIS other than a way into college; the rest sort of happened,” Marion said.
Years later, Marion confessed to being relieved when Bridget drove them to a class assignment rather than taking his car because “parts of it were held together with postal tape,” she said.
During freshman year, Faith A. Alejando saw Chris Nixon playing Frisbee while waiting for PE class on the football field at its original Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ) location. “He doesn’t remember that moment,” Fath added, “so you can hardly call it a ‘meet-cute.’”
But some flirting and chatting in math class led to both getting into trouble with the teacher and a date for the spring Sadie Hawkins dance as sophomores. That fall, Chris invited her to the Homecoming dance. By semester’s end, their constant togetherness prompted classmate Stephen Hall to ask if they were dating – and Pearl Harbor Day (Dec. 7) became their anniversary.
Their first date that wasn’t a dance was to dinner and a movie, along with classmate Aujang Abadi as chaperone. “Not kidding! I swear my intentions were pure, but this provided peace of mind to Faith’s parents,” said Chris, now a principal scientist in Virginia’s health laboratory. The couple married in June 2007 and now live in Richmond near TJ.
Building longer term relationships
After high school, Chris headed to North Carolina State University, where he was on the swim team, while Faith attended UVA. “Going to different colleges wasn’t easy, and I felt the weight of it often, but in hindsight, it was a gift,” said Faith, a labor and employment lawyer who has served on the school foundation’s board. “Being apart allowed us to grow – not just as a couple, but as individuals. We had the space to focus on our studies, reflect on our personal goals, and step into young adulthood with more clarity than if we had spent all our free time together.”
Even though Caroline Vines, ’09, and Vinson Pierce, ’07, shared spots on the track team, she ran long distance, and he competed in pole vault – as the coach would say, “never the twain shall meet.” It took years later and another alum and her best friend, Meg Dawson, who was working at a restaurant in Burlington, Vt., with Vinson.
The group got together for trivia night after she moved to the area to attend medical school, leading to an official first date at Drifter’s restaurant – but not before some dance moves at a local disco party and a walk around nearby Lake Champlain with his dog, Lola. There was also “a bizarre multi-hour van ride,” where they dropped off visiting journalists from Yaroslavl, Russia – Burlington’s sister city – to their host families.
“The fact that we were both at Maggie Walker at the same time but never met – and then somehow connected 10 years later in tiny Vermont of all places – is pretty special,” Vinson said. In 2016, he had attended an alumni holiday party back in Richmond, where Meg initially introduced them.
“Having that common history was a nice thing to be able to draw on early in our relationship,” said Vinson, who has been farming since 2019. “Knowing that we both came from Richmond, had friends and family there, and eventually wanted to move back certainly made discussions about a future together a little less daunting.”
About those love connections
Caroline, now an emergency medicine physician, wasn’t surprised she found love through Maggie Walker, noting that their wedding guest list in 2023 featured a strong showing of high school friends, including members of the track and basketball teams. The bridal party alone included five alums.
“Maggie Walker attracts such a unique and inquisitive group of people,” she said, “creating lasting friendships and bonds between people who graduate from MLWGS – even if you didn’t know each other in high school.”
For many, going away to college created some on-and-off moments for those relationships. Within a few years of their first date, Marion was in law school “and I constantly found myself returning to Bridget – wanting to share my successes and failures,” he said. The couple lives in New Jersey with their two daughters; both Marion and Bridget practice law.
Every couple cited lasting friendships with their classmates, who rooted for them and kept them grounded.
Because Faith’s parents had a “no-dating rule,” her friends helped by “giving us plenty of opportunities to spend time together through group activities, including our legendary Pickleball Club (yes, we were the OG Pickleball Club, long before it swept the nation!),” said Faith, who graduated in 2001. “Growing up in a strict Filipino household, dating wasn’t really an option; I was expected to focus on my studies.”
When she arrived at the governor’s school, she aimed to carve out a space for herself, and she found a diverse, welcoming community. “And then there was Chris: the kindest, most unassuming guy who just so happened to also be the cute jock,” she said. “Falling for him wasn’t part of my plan, but it was one of the best surprises of my life.” Over the past 26 years (which includes 17 years of marriage), they have welcomed two children and supported each other during continued education to support their careers, while also navigating the loss of his father, her battle with breast cancer, and her parents’ divorce.
And sometimes, that introduction at Maggie Walker was a spark that needed time to catch fire. Corinne notes that because their early attempts at dating didn’t go smoothly, she never expected that she would eventually marry Andrew.
“But we remained good friends throughout, and, over time, it just became clear that he was the one I wanted to share everything in my life with,” said Corinne, who shared her vows in April with her two brothers, his brother and a bridesmaid all joining as Maggie Walker graduates. “I don’t think either of us expected to find ‘the one’ (in high school), but we’re really glad that we did.”
What’s your Governor’s School love connection? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email with your story at alumni@mlwgsfoundation.org.