#LionLove Stories ?

Happy Valentine's Day!

When you consider our students are known for negotiating complex mergers, leading in the digital future space, or letting it all out on the rugby pitch, one thing that CBS students excel in that isn't mentioned in any class description is matchmaking!

From stealing first glances during a class in Uris Hall, to first dates taking place at the CBS Fall Ball, or a chance meeting at an alumni event in Washington D.C.; there's no shortage of charming first encounters and happy reunions that have taken place over the years.

Read below to celebrate love, both romantic and platonic, within our CBS community! A special thank you to everyone who submitted their #LionLove story ?

Robert '03 & Benís '12 Reffkin

We iconically met at a New York City gala a year before Benís attended Columbia Business School. Ever since, we have very much enjoyed sharing an MBA Alma Mater, always attending alumni events and reunions together.

Valentine's and Galentine's Stories

Roger Fortune '01 & Susi Yu '01

I was a CBS student taking Real Estate Transactions and a development class in the MS Real Estate Development Program. My wife was a student in the MSRED Program taking the same classes. We met at the beginning of my second year. Our first date was CBS Fall Ball at the NY Public Library. We both graduated in 2001 and married September 1, 2002. We have 2 daughters, aged 16 and 19 and live in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Gabby ‘25, Tasia ‘25, Kia ‘25, Alice ‘25

Gabby Darko ‘25, Tasia Burroughs ‘25, Kia Young ‘25, Alice Harris ‘25

We met through the consortium and BBSA and love hanging out on campus and at events! We also love traveling together. Our most recent trip was to Park City Utah, and before that we spent Fall Break together in Dominican Republic!

Martin McQuade '23 & Emily Cheng '23

We were both at Columbia Business School but enrolled in different programs (Martin in EMBA, and I was in MD/MBA) so our paths never crossed until we serendipitously both decided to take an Intro to UX course with Paul Canetti. Martin was late for the last class, and as fate would have it, the only seat remaining was the one next to me!

We got engaged in New Zealand over the holidays and are planning our wedding later this year.

John Scalamandre '23 & Lulu Zhong '23

We met a few months ahead of the program at a meetup for admitted students living in Hell’s Kitchen. We were both first to arrive at the event and struck up a conversation over the same drink order: two tequila sodas. Over time, we found out that we shared a mutual interest in writing and making music. At first we became friends, but over time we had clearly developed another mutual interest in each other. The first “date” we had was really just a friendly hangout over burgers and music. We planned to have a creative session where we each worked on a song we were producing, but the company was so good that no work ended up getting done. We began dating seriously as the program began, were able to enjoy the Columbia experience together, and got engaged shortly after graduation — a journey we wouldn’t change for the world.

Rachel '15 & Daniel '15 Wagman

We met on the very first day of orientation. There was a BBQ being hosted at Warren Hall. A woman in my cluster knew Dan from San Francisco and thought we should meet. We briefly chatted then, but later in the week after another Orientation event at Chelsea Piers, Dan and I ended up talking for hours on the roof of bar downtown. From there, we had our first date at the Mermaid Inn and the rest is history. Our first kiss was at Parlour after Rugby HH. Romantic! :)

Mark '89 & Mico '93 Zinty

We met at a CBS Washington DC Alumni Club event and later on ran the DC alumni club for several years. We have been married for almost 30 years!

David '89 & Andrea Rose '88 Allon

I noticed Andrea at a security analysis class in Uris Hall in the summer of 1988. I was smitten. I proposed to Andrea on a trip to Murren, Switzerland, in the summer of 1989, and we married in September 1990. One table of guests was all our friends from CBS. We live in Wayne, PA, and have two sons living in Boston.

Will you be our Valentine and make a gift today?

Be Our Valentine