In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, The Catalyst reached out to teachers to hear about how they met their spouses and their favorite memories of the holiday.

Jennifer Walton (JW):
TC (The Catalyst): How did you meet your partner?
JW: So, my friend was my hairstylist and we would go out when I was in college. So she would always talk about this guy that went out with my friends and he was this crazy Canadian. And so anyways, I would always go out at a different time than they would. Then one time I actually met him and I looked at him and I thought, oh, he’s not into my type or whatever, and then we danced… he still thought like I didn’t like him though, but then it was actually the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas. So he met us there and then we went country western dancing. And so then after that, he thought I didn’t like him, but my friend told him I did so then we started dating after that.
TC: What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day memory?
JW: I guess one time I had when I worked at Half Moon Bay High School, I had to supervise a volleyball game, and so I was there and my husband was with me and the athletic director was like, “It’s Valentine’s Day. Why are you here?” And I was like, “I’m just supervising the game,” and he’s like, “No, you guys should go out to dinner.” I didn’t live in Half Moon Bay at the time I lived in Pacifica, So we ended up going to Mezza Luna, and it was just really kind of romantic. It was like a spur of the moment romantic thing.

Gallery • 1 Photos

The Catalyst / Matthew Hankins

Hankins and his wife pose for a sunset photo together.

Matthew Hankins (MH):
TC: How did you meet your spouse?
MH: We met in college during our undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz.
TC: What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day memory?
MH: My favorite was when we were living in Manila in the Philippines, and we basically went to a really cool restaurant. It was like outdoors, and you’re in your own little private hut, and there were candles and flowers all over the place. It was a big really nice dinner there.

Gallery • 1 Photos

The Catalyst / Abigail Vega

Vega and her wife visit a mountain winery.

Abigail Vega (AV):
TC: How did you meet your partner?
AV: I was teaching at a school in England, a girl’s boarding school, and my wife was teaching at a boy’s school in England, and we met at a teaching conference.
TC: Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day memory?
AV: One Valentine’s Day, my wife was already in Turkey, and I was supposed to be flying to Turkey to join her. At the airport, there was something, the computers crashed and British airports couldn’t do any flights for two days. So I couldn’t go, and we had fun plans in Turkey and then we were like, “Okay, well, I guess this is all canceled,” and then she flew back from Turkey and then I did a last minute thing where I made this fancy three course meal. I got different wines to do wine pairings with each course, and I decorated and stuff, so that was fun.