They Said “Yes” to the Honors Program, and Then to Each Other

Three married couples recall how they met as Rutgers honors students

He was only on stage for a moment, but Robert Buccigrossi gave class valedictorian remarks in 1994 that would be hard to forget.

With a U.S. senator and university leaders looking on, Buccigrossi stepped to the microphone at the Rutgers College commencement and said, “Jennifer Horn, could you please stand up?” Horn, a fellow senior who had been dating Buccigrossi, was seated among the throng of graduates on Voorhees Mall and was as surprised as anyone to hear him call her name.

“I expected some mushy ‘thank you’ for helping him get there,” she said. Instead, “he basically just said, ‘Will you marry me?' "

And Horn responded with a nod of her head: “Yes.”

The couple had met and fell in love in the honors program.

And they aren’t the only ones.

Alumni of what is now the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program can easily list what they treasured most about their experience, including mentoring, housing, special courses, and a strong sense of community.

But for some, the program also gave them something more—a relationship that would blossom into marriage. Here are three examples.

Jennifer and Robert

Jennifer Horn and Robert Buccigrossi, Class of 1994 graduates, met while living at McCormick Suites, an honors program residence hall known for its friendly vibe.

“We were part of a pretty cohesive group,” Jennifer said. “We all just got along. Different majors, different personalities. We would go to lunch and do things.”

The couple got involved in Alph Phi Omega service organization, working together on jobs like de-stapling old fliers, staffing the lost and found office, and walking dogs at an animal shelter.

“I was completely afraid of dogs,” Robert said. “She turned me into a dog lover.”

After popping the question from the stage during graduation, Robert couldn’t gauge the response. U.S. Senator Bill Bradley shook his hand. And after returning to his seat, the person next to him quipped: “Looks like you’ll have to wait till you get home to get the real answer.”

The couple married a year later. Jennifer is a pediatrician and Robert is chief technology officer at a Washington D.C.-based consulting firm. They have a daughter who is attending Rutgers, and a dog named Bear.

Shortly after graduating, the couple celebrated their engagement with a trip to Disney World. Waiting in line at a roller coaster, someone spotted their Rutgers regalia and approached.

“He said, ‘Oh, Rutgers. Did you hear some guy proposed to his girlfriend at graduation?’” Jennifer said.

Sweta and Patrick

Sweta Devarajan and Patrick Ambrosio, 2017 graduates, got acquainted while exploring ancient Mayan ruins. The two were among a dozen honors students to go on a 1-credit spring break trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

The much-loved annual journey led by then honors assistant dean Julio Nazario had students climbing pyramids, hiking in rainforests and learning about the region from local guides.

The two sophomores met for the first time as the group gathered at the airport for the flight to Mexico.  During the week, as the students toured historic colonial cities and snorkeled in tropical seas, Sweta said she developed a positive impression of Patrick.

“I thought, ‘Oh, he likes history, he’s a good swimmer, we can talk to each other and he asks good questions to the guide,’ ” she recalled.

Patrick’s roommate on the trip noticed the rapport blossoming and encouraged Patrick to ask Sweta out on a date.

“I asked him, 'Do you think she likes me?’” Patrick recalled. “And he said, ‘Oh yeah, I can tell by the way she is talking to you. Go for it.’”

After returning home, the two struck up a relationship.

“I felt we had a whole week’s worth of dating without there being the pressure of being on a date,” Sweta said of the trip. “We were with others our age. We all lived in a courtyard. And we would stay up talking.”

The two continued building their relationship through honors program activities and events, including bus rides organized by Nazario to New York City to see the Cloisters and take in the museums.

“On one of our first dates, we went to the Met,” Sweta said.

“That was what was so great about the honors program,” Patrick said. “You get this small liberal arts college within the research university.”

After graduating from Rutgers, both obtained graduate degrees—Sweta in physical therapy as well as anatomy and clinical health sciences, and Patrick in statistics. They married in 2021 and relocated to Denver in 2024 where they are pursuing careers in health care and data analytics. The couple recently celebrated the birth of their first child, a baby girl.

Though they enjoy their new surroundings, they at times feel nostalgic for the days in New Brunswick ordering food from places like Thai Noodle. 

“The woman who ran it knew our orders,” Patrick said.   

Sweta adds: “I’d always order an eggplant dish and she’d say, ‘Yeah, yeah; and pad kee mao?' ”  

Faith and Wee Siang

Wee Siang Tay and Faith Lee, 2019 graduates, met in an honors seminar called “China’s Capitals Across Time and Their Linguistic and Cultural Impacts.”

“She always came to class with some Brower takeout nachos,” Wee Siang, an economics major, recalled in an email from the couple, who now live in Singapore. 

During the seminar, the two were paired up to do a presentation together. And then for 10 days in May 2017, the class toured China, led by Richard V. Simmons, of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.

“Our trip to China provided a lot of common ground,” said Faith, who majored in French and medieval studies. 

After returning, the two remained close friends through honors events like incoming students’ day and honors formal, and occasionally going out to eat.

“We became a couple by eating all the delicious food within the periphery of Rutgers,” Faith said.

She said the two were often running into each other at the honors program’s main offices on the College Avenue Campus.

“Many of our friends were also in the honors program, so our roads often converged at 35 College Ave.”

The two began dating in their junior year and were married in 2022.

Wee Siang is an analytics consultant, and Faith teaches kindergarten in a French international school.