“He led me down to the spot overlooking the river, I turned around, and he was down on one knee. I had no idea it was coming,” Mrs. Kaschub recalls the unforgettable memory of her proposal. “The ring was upside down,” she says.  

We all dream about the perfect moment – sharing a sunset with your partner as a light breeze whispers against your cheeks. You hear your significant other call your name and turn around to see them get down on one knee. While this may sound too dreamy to be true, DIS teachers and staff say otherwise. Let us dive into their fairy-tale-like love stories. 

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Kaschub, who welcomed another baby boy to their family. To mark this new advent, let’s wind back to their story.

Mrs. Kaschub: I met him when I was a freshman in college. We had mutual friends, and I would go to his house a lot […] so that’s how I met him. I was a freshman, and he was a senior. And so my first impression of him, I thought he was such a cool guy, he was so nice, he was really funny, and so, we were just friends at first, for a couple of years, but I thought he was a great guy.

Mr. Kaschub: When we were friends, it was very clear that she was a good person, and she’s got this contagious personality. She is very fun and outgoing. Even before we began dating, she was a very cool individual and someone that I liked being around. Everything that I learned about her made me fall in love with her.

Mrs. Kaschub: I remember not being able to not think about him. I always wanted to spend time with him, and when I wasn’t spending time with him, I thought, ‘Ugh, I wish we were together.’ It was really hard being apart, so I think that’s when I knew, this person’s a keeper. We dated for 3 years before he proposed to me.

Mr. Kaschub: I was going to propose to her at a really beautiful park right by the Mississippi River in La Crosse where we met and went to college. We were not living there at that time, so I had to make an excuse for why we had to go back there. I said that we were going to meet a friend at the park, and he was going to be there in the summer with kids. It didn’t really make any sense, but she bought it. 

Mrs. Kaschub: I had just hurt my knee in cheerleading, so I had a brace on. I was hobbling around, and he was having me walk through this park. I was like, ‘Why are we meeting this friend? I don’t want to keep walking’ […] anyway, we get down to this river that ends in this park on the Mississippi River […] I was kind of grumpy. But, he led me down to this spot overlooking the river, and I turned around, and he was down on one knee, and he had proposed then. I had no idea.

Mr. Kaschub: I was just trying to get her down to the water, the little deck that looks right over the Mississippi River. I got her down there and got down on my knee, but I had the ring upside down. The top and the bottom looked exactly the same, so when I pulled it out of my pocket and opened it, the ring was upside down. But she still said ‘yes.’

Another soon-to-be-wed teacher on campus, Ms. Loustch got engaged this past July — a perfect summer dream. Let us open the first page of her love life. 

Ms. Loustch: I was out with some friends. My partner actually saw me, was interested in me, and approached me to tell me. I thought he was cute. But also, I’m quite shy, so I was like, ‘Okay, hi,’ and we talked for a little bit. The one thing I really liked about him was that his eyes were mesmerizing. He has really nice blue-green eyes. I remember thinking, ‘Woah, this guy has really nice eyes.’ I think that’s kind of how he ‘captured’ me. Then he asked if it would be okay if he got my number, so I told him that’s fine.

Though it all started with a simple exchange of numbers, Ms. Loustch’s story finishes with a promise of eternal love. She says, “I don’t recall a moment where I was like, ‘he’s the one.’ For me, it was just gradual over time.” Their journey continues on, with much more love, flowers, and smiles yet to come. Congratulations on her engagement.

Everyone loves a good cliché of a blind date. This next story of Mr. and Mrs. Cameron will get you to kick your feet in the air and giggle. The couple spills their sweet memories that all began in a coffee shop in Seattle. 

Mr. Cameron: I met Mrs. Cameron because I knew a friend of hers from high school. Her friend and I had been on jury duty together for two or three years before I met Mrs. Cameron. Two years later, [the friend] emailed me and said, ‘Hey, do you remember me? I got your email address from your friend from grad school. I have a question: are you single? I have this friend that I think you’d really hit it off with. She’s a friend of mine from high school, and she just moved back to Seattle.’ So, I gave her my email address, and Mrs. Cameron and I made plans to go and have coffee together.

Mrs. Cameron: He was very tall. And the first time we met was at a coffee shop. Our mutual friend knew both of us and thought that we might make a good match. Mr. Cameron and I were set up on a blind date. I had a photo of him so that I could find him at the coffee shop, but he didn’t know anything about me. We went out for coffee, had a great conversation, and realized we had a lot of similar interests. 

On our second date, we went to the Seattle Zoo, and we walked around and looked at all the different things, talked about the world, our interests, traveling, and seeing different parts of the world. […] What’s really nice is that when you walk around a park or a place and get to look at something, it sparks lots of conversations.

After two years, the two took another step forward in their relationship.

Mrs. Cameron: Mr. Cameron proposed in Cannon Beach, Oregon, which is a really beautiful part of the United States. There are these really beautiful rocks called Haystack Rock. It’s a really famous place on the beach in Oregon. And it was pouring down rain, and Mr. Cameron said ‘let’s go for a walk.’ Then he got down on one knee, in the rain, on the beach. We had our first date in the Zoka Coffee Shop, and at our wedding, we danced to the song Falling in Love at a coffee shop.

Some cherish their memories, while others await the beginning of their new chapters in life. Whether it began with phone numbers, college friends, or jury duty, their stories continue on. The DIS staff’s past warms many hearts this winter, and perhaps one day, our students will write their own tales too. Until then, we wish all the best for the lovers.

Some cherish their memories, while others await the beginning of their new chapters in life. Whether it began with phone numbers, college friends, or jury duty, their stories continue on. The DIS staff’s past warms many hearts this winter, and perhaps one day, our students will write their own tales too. Until then, we wish all the best for the lovers.