Brandeis Alumni, Family and Friends
Love Blooms at Brandeis
February 10, 2026
Alumni couples share their LouieLove stories
Tales of alumni who met and fell in love while at Brandeis most likely date back to when the University was founded. But who grows tired of a heart-warming love story? We don’t. So in honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked several couples who married in the past few years to share memories of their LouieLove.
Hannah and Alexis
In the fall of 2016, sophomore Hannah Rezonzew ’19 (photo, left) became friends with Gerry Press ’20 — who happened to be roommates with Alexis Sverdlik ’20 (photo, right). Then one night, Gerry and Alexis were walking back to campus from a party and ran into Hannah. They all decided to go to the Stein and have a late-night meal.
A spark was lit that night. Soon after, Hannah and Alexis started getting meals together and hanging out. Their relationship quickly grew. Hannah fell for Alexis’s sense of humor and how he was unapologetically himself. Alexis fell for Hannah’s empathy and work ethic. A favorite shared Brandeis memory was the annual Yom Kippur break-the-fast event held in the massive tent on the Great Lawn.
After Brandeis, their relationship was long distance for three years while Alexis attended law school. But the pair’s love never wavered. In October of 2023 during a trip to Puerto Rico, Alexis proposed. They had an intimate wedding in April 2024 in Coral Gables, Florida. Gerry attended and recited one of the blessings under their chuppah.Natalie and Jonah
Natalie Cohen ’20 (photo, right) met Jonah Fischer ’18 at a campus social event during her freshman year. Jonah insists that he noticed Natalie because the room went black and a spotlight landed on her. Ironically, Natalie had gone to the event as a “wingwoman” for a friend who had her eye on Jonah. But somehow, Natalie and Jonah ended up talking.
Part of overlapping social circles, the pair’s friendship grew. Conversations flowed easily. Moving into a romantic relationship felt natural. Jonah had a way of making Natalie laugh, even when life felt chaotic or she was missing her family. Favorite Brandeis memories center around small shared moments, like walking together up the Rabb steps to class or debating everything from weekend plans to their courses in the Heller-Brown building.
The couple, who married in July of 2025 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, surrounded by friends (including several from Brandeis) and family, aren’t the only LouieLove couple in the family. Jonah’s parents Marlene ’85 and Mark ’83 met at Brandeis, too.Rachel and Jackson
Rachel Dillon ’17 (photo, right) and Jackson Tuck ’17 moved into rooms on the same floor of Usen Hall at the start of their freshman year. An open-door policy set by Jackson’s roommate drew Rachel into their room for frequent hangouts, and a friendship began.
Spending time together felt natural and fun. By spring, after many late-night movies, walks around campus, and a fraternity formal, they both started feeling more than friendship.
Ten years later, in the fall of 2023, Rachel was in Italy completing her master’s thesis in poetry. Jackson visited her, got on one knee in a rowboat in the center of Lago di Braies, and asked if she’d be his best friend forever. The couple married in August 2025, at Timber Hill Farms in Gilford, New Hampshire, with almost 30 Brandeis friends in attendance.
Rachel and Jackson’s story was featured in The Boston Globe’s weekly column “The Big Day.”
Raya and Osmond
Perhaps it was kismet that brought Raya Stantcheva ’14 (photo, right) and Osmond Wang ’14 to the same Meditation Club meeting during those first few weeks of their freshman year. By the end of the meeting, Osmond had Raya’s number. The next day, he texted her to hang out. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
As soon as Raya and Osmond started talking, they clicked. Conversations seemed to last for hours. The two connected over shared cross-cultural upbringings and common interests, such as philosophy, psychology, eclectic musical tastes, and, of course, meditation. They both loved the liberal arts experience at Brandeis and took several classes together, walking down to the business school for economics and up the Rabb steps for philosophy.
In a way, Raya and Osmond always knew they would get married. A five-year span of dating long distance delayed the day. But 13 years after meeting, the pair recited the vows they wrote to each other in June 2023 at an intimate garden ceremony with immediate family.
Samantha and Eitan
Samantha Brody ’24 (photo, right) and Eitan Marks ’24 lived in the same dorm their freshman year. They also were in the same Hebrew class on Zoom (due to the pandemic). But they became friends after Samantha, who as a Hillel board member would meet with Jewish students who hadn’t yet attended a Hillel event, took Eitan out for coffee.
The two immediately bonded over their shared interest in Hebrew music, Jewish culture, and general attitudes about life. They spent hours hanging out and talking on the benches in Massell quad during class breaks and weekends. Within a month or so of being friends, Samantha and Eitan started dating. Memories include afternoons in the Hillel lounge, Shabbat meals together, adventures in Boston, and being back-to-back Hillel presidents.
By their junior year, the pair knew they were headed for marriage. The ceremony took place last in June 2025 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. More than one-third of the guests — including 30 friends and Brandeis president, Arthur Levine ’70 — were somehow affiliated with Brandeis.Share your LouieLove story with fellow alumni! Brandeis Magazine features wedding photos in the Ceremonies section of the print edition and online.