Apparently, seven percent of Georgetown students find forever love on the Hilltop. That’s also the percentage of students with flex dollars still left over by March, the percentage of students in the MSB who don’t have to color for a single assignment this week, and the percentage of athletes on campus not currently wearing their team’s merch. But if you haven’t found the love of your life yet, don’t fret—they might just be a missed connection.
This Valentine’s Day, the Voice is sharing stories of those who’ve struck luck in finding love at Georgetown, and ways for the hopelessly alone to find their own Hoya love story (or, at least, a funny flop to tell your friends about).
For some Hoyas, their love story came when they weren’t even on the lookout for love.
“I don’t think either of us were looking out for this when we met, and I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Nicholas Voltaggio (SFS ’25), partner of Fiona Richards (SFS ’25), said.
Photo by Izzy Wagener Richards (right) and Voltaggio (left)Photo by Izzy Wagener
Richards and Voltaggio almost immediately hit it off on a walk to the monuments, and started dating in the fall semester of their first year at Georgetown. Later, as they both went through the epic highs and lows of freshman year, they experienced everything together.
“We were both going through the early stages of the SFS core,” Volataggio said.
“That was when your identity was entirely shaped by your prosem, and that was a lot,” Richards interjected.
“We were together starting in October of freshman year, and then later on, taking beloved classes such as CPS and international finance at the same time. Our [story] is classic Georgetown,” Voltaggio said.
Just like the after effects of a meal at Five Spice, love hit these couples when they least expected it. All of the couples the Voice spoke with met freshman year—and with the exception of one, that’s also when they started dating. In a time of massive life transitions, these new Hoyas had another change on their plate: their relationship status.
Photo by Izzy Wagener Swank (left) and Arlis (right)Photo by Izzy Wagener
Ninabella Arlis (CAS/MSB ’26) and Andrew Swank (SFS ’26) met at a New Student Orientation (NSO) game night in New South Hall. While they felt an immediate connection, they decided to hold off on dating—until they couldn’t.
“Even when we were like, ‘We should wait a little and get more settled,’ we really just enjoyed spending time together, and we couldn’t stop spending time together. And [it] eventually got to a point where we were like, ‘Should we just call this what it is, and say that we’re dating?’ And then we scheduled our first date for September 30,” Swank said.
Disclaimer: Ninabella Arlis and Andrew Swank are members of the Voice
Experiencing the Hilltop together since nearly the first day, it’s no surprise that Arlis and Swank can’t imagine their Georgetown lives without each other.
“He kind of became Georgetown to me a little bit, not in the sense that my life is centered around him, but in the sense that a lot of his traits exemplify the things that I was excited about coming to Georgetown,” Arlis said. “So I did not feel like I was actually having to limit myself by dating somebody in the first weeks of freshman year.”
Photo by Izzy Wagener Anderson (left) and Munroe (right)Photo by Izzy Wagener
Elijah Anderson (CAS ’27) and Melissa Munroe (MSB ’27) started dating in the spring semester of their freshman year. Unable to separate business from pleasure, these lovebirds got close serving as freshman representatives for the Caribbean Culture Circle (CCC).
“We met here, we didn’t know each other before we both got freshman rep for CCC, and we’re both Caribbean, so that played a big role, because we just hung out all the time in a club sense, and also in a friend group sense,” Munroe said.
Even with busy schedules, this couple always finds different ways to spend time together right on campus.
“There can be so many interesting things to do and experiences to share even just here at Georgetown,” Anderson said.
Photo by Izzy Wagener Presser (left) and Vitali (right)Photo by Izzy Wagener
Georgetown has been pivotal in the formation and continuation of their relationships, regardless of which club, classroom, or floor of Lauinger Library connected these Hoyas. Or, in Jonah Presser (SFS ’25) and Joe Vitali’s (CAS ’25) case, your connection may begin at George… Washington University (GW).
“So we actually met at a GW party. So the mutual friend invited us both to go with her to a party that she was invited to by some freshman at GW,” Vitali said. “Then one of his friends was like, ‘my friend is looking for somebody.’”
However, if going to GW is too intimidating, you could always find love from the comfort of your own home—or an anonymous Google form.
The Voice was able to secure an interview with the manager of the Instagram account @georgetown.missedconnections, a place where students submit anonymous messages detailing someone they saw in passing with the hope that they will connect again. Though those messages don’t always lead to relationships, the happiness they bring the community is undeniable.
“I love that something that’s like an afterthought to somebody, [who’s] just going and typing out someone’s cute or has good vibes, can make someone’s day so much,” @georgetown.missedconnections said.
However, it would seem that some members of the Georgetown community may lack a certain chutzpah to seek out their crushes in person, given Missed Connections’ popularity. The account’s manager said that they hope that people also pursue other Hoyas outside of the account, and, as Aristotle once said, “Shoot their shot.”
“I’d like to see more of these missed connections becoming non-missed connections, just like something actually happening. But it’s really just like people being a little more bold, approaching each other, that kind of thing,” @georgetown.missedconnections said.
However, even if you do manage to turn a missed connection into a love affair, there can still be struggles ahead. Just as Georgetown sparked these loves, the Hilltop has sparked equal challenges. As students are split up to different sides of the country (and occasionally the world) during school breaks, summer, and study abroad semesters, adjustments are necessary.
“You go for winter break for a month, and over the summer for several months, being in different time zones,” Voltaggio said. “And that makes you prioritize the relationship in a different way, because you have to be maintaining contact and make sure you’re staying on the same page, in the same wavelength, even when you’re not occupying the same space.”
But even when these students share their lives in D.C., the grind mentality of Georgetown brings its own unique struggles that couples have to learn to navigate.
“Our biggest issues come when we’re both pretty overloaded on work, which is happening a lot somewhat this semester because I have a thesis and he is working on the Hill, but we work it out through communication,” Presser said.
Especially for seniors, the uncertainty over the future can sometimes make navigating a college relationship more challenging.
“I think especially now as second semester seniors sort of looking to postgrad, I feel like that’s challenging,” Richards said. “How do we balance prioritizing each other, but also prioritizing first jobs and things like that?”
These hurdles, though difficult, are not insurmountable —so, if you put in at least as much work as you were willing to put in to get your Mr. Georgetown tickets, you’ll probably be ok.
“If the person is right for you, it will work out in the end. You will be willing to put in the extra time, whether that’s extra time spending abnormal amounts of time on FaceTime or flying to go visit your partner,” Swank said.
Despite these hardships, these couples have turned everything from avoiding food poisoning at Leo’s to study sessions at Lau into romantic getaways.
“We got into this habit of always taking walks with each other after we finished studying,” Anderson said. “And just, even [with] very busy schedules and having a lot of work to do, making time and spending time with each other.”
Most of all, figuring it all out during one’s time at the Hilltop can easily be complicated (but also enhanced) with a special someone by your side.
“As you’re sort of growing and changing and figuring out what you want and who you are, doing that together can be challenging, but I think is also really enriching,” Richards said.
As commencement approaches, senior couples are beginning to look past the Hilltop.
“We definitely look relatively long term in our relationship, because we’ve been together for so long that it makes sense to be thinking about the fact that in another three years, we might still be together,” Vitali said.
However, as career opportunities push and pull, some senior couples are considering spending futures together, but physically apart. Franziska Wild (SFS ’25) and Sabrina Shaffer (SFS ’25) foresee their relationship going long distance for a while due to their differing job prospects, but they hope to be in the same city eventually.
“I think we’re trying not to close any doors or hold each other back or anything like that,” Wild said.
Photo by Izzy Wagener Wild (left) and Shaffer (right)Photo by Izzy Wagener
Disclaimer: Sabrina Shaffer and Franziska Wild are members of the Voice
Shaffer and Wild have been dating since the spring semester of their sophomore year. They met through the Voice (which is just one reason to join your campus newsmagazine), but were in different sections and didn’t connect until two mutual friends acted as wingmen for the relationship.
If your friends haven’t been playing cupid though, consider starting small. First off, couples recommend not rushing into anything, and letting love happen naturally at its own pace.
“I’m a big advocate for being friends first. Me and him were friends the entire freshman fall, we were just friends for months and months, and then it grew into something else,” Munroe said. “You’re allowed to just be more of yourself. And I think that finding a friend and being able to trust the person that you’re with as a friend first, and then as a significant other second, is really important.”
Sadly, Bradley Cooper (CAS ’97) doesn’t seem to be re-enrolling at the Hilltop soon, and so Hoyas may need to reevaluate their goals in love. While on the prowl for a relationship, our experts recommend leaving that “dream partner” checklist behind.
“There is no timeline. There is no perfect set of boxes. I think that the most special people that you meet—in any sense, romantic or otherwise—are not people that you can manifest or think that you want certain traits from. And I think it’s important to listen to yourself and pay attention to the signs that someone is bringing you true joy,” Arlis said.
However, don’t totally drop your standards—even when your heart is telling you that you can fix him.
“Advice that I would give to single Hoyas and to anyone who is also specifically looking for a relationship, would be not to accept anything less than somebody that makes you actually really happy. I think you’re young, and there’s a lot of time, so it’s worth waiting to find people that are really worth it,” Wild said.
Also, look beyond just the dating apps, and don’t give up hope that the person meant for you may be sitting right next to you in class.
“I do feel like people think you can’t meet people in person, ” Shaffer said. “But I think that is definitely possible, and makes your relationship very fulfilling.”
If you’re feeling a little bold this Valentine’s Day, send that risky DM (or missed connection, or LinkedIn?).
“Misfortunes are fine,” said Wild. “Shoot your shot.”
