Happily Ever After The Hilltop

This Valentine’s Day enjoy a good love story!  We have collected the stories of some of KUA’s couples who either met while students on The Hilltop or found their way to each other in their years after graduation.
Want to be included next year? Send us your story!

Tim Herbert ’83 P’09, ’11, ’14 & Sally (Griffiths) Herbert ’84 P’09, ’11, ’14

What is the story of how you met?
Ski team camp in Stowe, VT. Sally and I both had Modern European History together, but it was at the training camp that I truly noticed her. I used my exceptional European lift line skills to make sure I happened to end up on the same chair as Sally....repeatedly! All double chairs in those days, so I had a captive audience! She was more interested in a tall red head, but this short red head was persistent. I was all in immediately; Sally took some convincing. Other than a failed attempt (about 4 weeks) at dating others while in college, and a short break while still at KUA, we've been together 41 years, and married for 33.

What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
Our favorite memory is probably just spending time with each other and hanging out with our friends in Miller and on the Miller hill when the weather was good. One of Sally's favorite memories is me falling at her feet (not on purpose) on the final turn of a cross country race.

What are you up to now?
We are now running Ring Brook Farm in Plainfield, NH. We have been hosting the KUA Equestrian Program here for almost 15 years. Sally is the program director and unmounted instructor, while I make sure all the things that should move keep moving, and that those that shouldn't don't.
 
We are proud to say that all three of our kids graduated from KUA, and that they also loved it. Recently, we also entered the new adventure of grandparenthood!

Tim Laflam ’97 & Zannie Norgang ’99

How did you meet?
Tim and I met at KUA in 1997, hiking French’s Ledges

What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
Coming back to campus as adults with our kids and seeing them play in the field house, jump in the swimming hole, shoot baskets in the old gym. My sister Colleen ’03 working at KUA and Tim’s family still in the village make Meriden a popular family destination. Sometimes we run into Seth Boroughs ’97 and his family which is also so fun.

What are you up to now?
Tim and I still live in Blue Hill, ME. Our children are 17, 14, 9, and 7! Having teenagers brings back so many memories of KUA and our high school days. The older kids are playing the guitar all the time and loving the same music that we listened to in our KUA days. Kind of feels like going back in time. I’m still a midwife doing home and hospital births. Tim is building barns and tapping trees. We sail in the summers and skate in the winters. We are excited to build a camp this summer and spend more time in the water. We get over to Meriden whenever we can to visit Tim’s family and my sister Colleen ’03, Faculty. Life is good on the coast of Maine!

Katie (Anson-Chapman) Mans ’98 & Peter Mans ’98
 
What is the story of how you met?
Peter says we officially met in Baxter at the very start of our sophomore year in 1994 – to be exact it was in Modern European History ("MEH") class with Mr. McClain. I think I was too nervous being a new boarding student to remember. Peter says he liked my short brown hair. (It was a chin length bob, I had just gotten it cut for the start of school. But as I sit typing this today my hair is in a newly bright pink pixie cut!) I liked how smart Pete was in that class and also the little cartoon doodle scenes he would draw in his notebook with Armond Caglar ’98.

What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
We didn't date at KUA, that didn't come until our late 20s, but some of our favorite memories together came from senior year in our Spanish 5 class with Señor Kardel. Peter and I would sit together and laugh and talk a lot, I even got reprimanded in my progress notes for this (sorry Mr. Kardel!). We actually did love that class. That same year, Peter would also take occasional extended breaks from his Calculus class with Mr. Taupier and walk down the basement hallway of Fitch and come get me out of Algebra. (Sorry, Taups.) I promise we still both learned so much at KUA!

What are you up to now?
Peter and I recently celebrated our 10th anniversary with our annual Maine cabin trip. We live in Plainfield, NH with our two rescued Saint Bernards, eight chickens, and one mallard duck, Mr. Duck. Peter is a landlord and property manager for a few local residential buildings, and I am a stay at home homeschooling mom to our two sparkling, enchanting daughters Jane Marie (9) and Louise Kate (7) who enjoy listening to all our old KUA stories as much as we like to tell them! We love skiing together locally at Mount Sunapee but also escaping to warm sunny Florida whenever we can.
 
Allison Oropallo ’01 & Gretchen Gottwald ’02

What is the story of how you met?
In 1998, we met at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York where we had been selected to play ice hockey. While there, during downtime we played basketball with the other trainees. You might think our athleticism would transfer from one sport to another. Alas, our talent on the ice remained in the rink. We were terrible basketball players and bonded on the court. And truly, that is the first place our spark ignited. We became pen pals. The Oropallo-Gottwald (OG) relationship was cemented in letter-writing. Before Gretch transferred to KUA for her sophomore year, we spoke on the phone each night. Allison had a reputation for hogging the Welch payphone. With the help of Mr. Williams, Gretch transferred to KUA her sophomore year and we were inseparable. 
 
What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
Once we were both on the KUA campus, the payphone was replaced by our walkie-talkies. We talked late into the night from our own rooms. We were formidable teammates on the Ice Hockey team. We relished every moment we got together at KUA because we didn’t think it was even a possibility to have a life together afterwards. This is a really interesting question to consider 23 years later because revealing our sexuality, nevermind our relationship, in 1998 was not an option. We did not experience a lot of overt homophobia but culturally, as teenagers living away from home, we understood that we should be safe and quiet about our love for each other. We were not an open couple at KUA but are so encouraged that KUA is a supportive and thriving place for young, gay people today.

What are you up to now?
We are living our dream. We have been in the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years and own our home in Sonoma County. Yes, of course, we adore our wine country living! Allison is a renowned carpenter and teacher who has appeared on HGTV and continues to teach construction, wood shop, engineering, and photography. Currently, she teaches in San Rafael, CA and is the lead instructor for Girls Garage in Berkeley, CA. Gretchen is an SEO Director in Marin County. All of this pales in comparison to our biggest news - Gretch gave birth to our twin babies in December 2021: Mazlo and Nash Oropallo-Gottwald. The OG girls!  We feel especially blessed that we were able to enjoy 23 years together before having our children. There is such an advantage to having a long relationship, knowing each other so well, and bringing two girls into this world.  We look forward to sharing our KUA stories with our daughters: how we used walkie-talkies late into the night to get acquainted and provide a safe haven to each other as we discovered our love. Most definitely, we will relate to their distinct dispositions: girls who have different personalities, different physical features, one that leans towards offense and one who is definitely a defensewoman. We have always been teammates and now have our own [team of] four OG Girls. Someday we’ll show them KUA - the place where Mom and Amo met.

Jesse Gendron ’02 & Mallory (Lefebvre) Gendron ’04

What is the story of how you met?
Jesse and Mallory met at an open mic night at Flickinger Art Center on a closed weekend. Jordan Loessor ’02 was playing the guitar and Jesse was singing. He then walked Mallory to her dorm at Hall Farm. Soon after, Headmaster Knox called "Headmaster’s Day," which in the fall was Mountain day. Jesse and Mallory both climbed Mount Cardigan with their friends and then met at the top and walked down the mountain together. Soon after they began dating and that last 20 years are history!

What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
One of their favorite memories was when their friend Alicia Cerrone ’04 (formally Sargent) coordinated Jesse flying home for Mallory's senior prom. Former faculty members Bill and Shelly Farrell helped hide Jesse in their Volkswagen van and surprised Mallory before leaving for prom! 

What are you up to now?
Jesse and Mallory recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary and 20 years since they met at KUA. They have two girls of their own; Hattie who is 5 and began kindergarten at the same school where her mom teaches, and Nora, who is 2 years old. Mallory is in her 14th year of teaching public school and Jesse is a driver for UPS. They continue to spend most of their time boating and staying at their family home on Bear Island, on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Evan Roberts ’07 & Sarah (Cutts) Roberts ’08

What is the story of how you met?
Sarah and Evan met right when Evan came to KUA as a new junior in 2005. Sarah was a retuning sophomore and a mutual friend thought they’d make a great pair. However, the couple didn’t connect until Sarah was working at a KUA event in the fall of 2012 at Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston. They started dating shortly thereafter, leading to Evan relocating from Rhode Island to Meriden, an engagement, a wedding, and a beautiful baby girl, London.

What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
Sarah and Evan had the same group of friends but were both too shy to connect. However, they both remember watching each other in their sports games. Both were three-sport varsity athletes (football, ice hockey, and lacrosse for Evan and field hockey, ice hockey, and tennis for Sarah). Their favorite memories as a couple are hosting Sarah’s advisees or students in their on-campus home for dinner, snacks, and good conversation.

What are you up to now?
After playing lacrosse in college, Evan is now a senior financial advisor at Merrill Lynch in Hanover, NH. After playing both tennis and squash in college, and spending eight wonderful years teaching, coaching, and working at KUA, as well as earning a master’s degree at Middlebury College, Sarah is a writer and artist who also watches baby London full-time. Sarah has published her first children’s book and has another expected to be released this summer. Sarah and Evan are expecting their second child together this April.

Lauren Borislow ’10 & Josh Dollinger ’10

What is the story of how you met?
Josh and I first "met" very briefly at the all school photo in 2007 on the first day of classes. He was late and got placed between my friends and I – we were not pleased about this random guy separating us! Definitely a few eye-rolls came his way. A few hours later we both walked into the same classroom and realized we had algebra together. We often talked before and after class, in the dining hall and on the fields during our soccer practices – some very average flirting attempts from both parties. It wasn't until later in the year on a weekend away with friends that Josh and I officially started dating! 

What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
Once a week, Josh and I used to get into our comfiest sweatpants and meet at the school store after dinner. We would each pick out a pint of Ben and Jerry's and find somewhere on campus to sit and eat it, which was usually the steps of the old Miller building. This was basically our KUA version of "date night." We would sit there, talk for hours (well, until study hall), and each take down a pint of ice cream. We are just realizing that this also sounds a lot like our 2020 date nights!

What are you up to now?
We moved into our new house in Andover, NH and have been loving getting to know our new town and making the house feel like a home! We added a dog to our family last year and have been truly obsessed with him. His name is Morty; he's got a ton of energy and loves everyone he meets. Josh and I are both working for technology companies based in Boston and love to spend our free time traveling, cooking, and spending time with friends and family!

Chris Wei ’10 & Margaret Zonay Wei ’11

What is the story of how you met?
Chris was doing a post-grad year at KUA and was on the hockey team that winter. I was on the girls hockey team so our locker rooms were right next to each other, and one day after practice we bumped into each other in the hallway. We finally started to hang out and started dating shortly after!

What is your favorite KUA memory as a couple?
We were both boarders so our favorite memories are just all the in-between moments and time we were able to spend on campus becoming best friends!

What are you up to now?
At the end of 2020 we bought a house outside of Boston in Stoughton, MA, where we live with our husky, Maya.
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