Katie and Alan's first encounter took place during a track day in the fall of 2012. Alan, then a junior, was herding new team members at a track day in Bremerton, with the Formula SAE team, testing cars from the previous years. Meanwhile, Katie, a freshman at the time, was just entering college and beginning to discover the thrill of racing and Formula SAE.

Alan and Katie would often run into each other in the halls of the engineering building. They would chat about current "Formula" projects and upcoming team events. This became a common occurrence, and it wasn't long until they hit it off. Alan's fond memory of "Formula Katie": In between classes, I'd frequently stop by the VRI (aka the "Shop") and check in on status of Formula projects. I recall, on numerous occasions, seeing this massive lathe being worked by the most petite girl, likely machining some prototype part for the Formula car. I'd stand there in awe, initially because I'd try recount the safety standards (or lack thereof) we'd incorporated into the shop, but also because, she was just so badass.

Alan and Katie officially became an item. Alan, always one for surprises, drops a bombshell: he's tossing his name into the hat for the Peace Corps later that year. Nothing says commitment quite like immediately running off to the opposite side of the world.

It's the last day before Peace Corps. Alan and Katie spend all day together doing all of their favorite things before Alan departs for the Republic of Georgia. They eat fish tacos, walk around Lake Washington, and go-kart at K1.

Alan's knee deep into the Peace Corps, learning the world.

Katie's off to LA, interning at SpaceX