Long-lasting Love Found on Campus

When Samantha Nephew, '11, took Introduction to Theater her sophomore year at Buffalo State, she didn’t imagine that she’d find a long-lasting romance among the acting and scene development exercises. What the public communication graduate found was art education major Mark James II, '09, who became her husband in 2013.

Was it love at first sight?

"At first, I remembered thinking Mark was kind of nerdy. He wore vests, doing this whole dress-up thing even though he was just going to school,” Nephew said with a laugh. But she also saw an intelligent and compassionate young man who was able to handle what she calls her strong and sometimes abrasive personality.

"I'm a woman who knows what she wants, goes for it, gets it, and keeps moving," said Nephew, a marketing manager for People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) Buffalo. "And Mark was never intimidated by that. In fact, he says that is what attracted him to me."

James, who works as a technical support specialist at Ingram Micro and as an event and wedding photographer, concurred that he was attracted to Nephew’s drive.

"When she told me about the things she had done and planned to do, I was impressed," James said. "She was cute, too."

For an early Valentine’s Day present this year, Nephew gave James a dozen orange roses, thanks to the Buffalo State Alumni Association. As part of the association’s new Bengals Sweethearts Contest, asking alumni couples to write about how they met as students, Nephew was selected the winner; a gift card for a flower bouquet was the prize.

"Since Valentine's Day is coming up, we thought the contest would be a fun way for our alumni to reminisce about how they met their significant others," said Beth Silverman, communications manager for the Alumni Affairs Office. "We put out the word via social media, email blasts, our website, and word of mouth and received some great stories."

Alumni who submitted entries ranged from recent graduates to those who met on campus in the ‘60s and ’70s.  Some have been married more than 40 years.

Nephew’s love story runs deeper than most college romances.

Just months before meeting James, Nephew’s father died suddenly. Then, in January 2010, her mother succumbed to a long illness. James’ unwavering support proved to Nephew he was a keeper.

"Without Mark, I probably would have dropped out of school after my mother died, at least for that spring semester," she said. "He was really there for me and encouraged me to stay in school. I'm glad I did."

Despite the pain of losing both of her parents while a student, Nephew said her years at Buffalo State remain some of the best. A random elective in a theater studio led not only to good times but to a lifelong love and a future full of promise.

Their first date, at Shakespeare in Delaware Park, went so well that the two ended up walking around the campus afterward and talking until 6:00 a.m.

"On our first two dates we spent 24 hours together," she said. The two discovered a shared love of political satire, trying new technologies and restaurants, and traveling.

Thirteen months later, while on a weekend getaway to Ithaca, New York, Nephew proposed.

The couple held a small wedding on August 24, 2013, across from Buffalo City Hall followed by a reception at J.P. Bullfeathers.

"When Sam proposed I was surprised, but I guess I should've expected she would make up her mind and act first. I had thought I would end up proposing but it would be a ways off," James said. "After that, everything seemed to just fall into place and soon enough we were living together and then married. The whole courtship lasted five years, but it doesn’t feel like it."