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The adage goes, you learn more outside the college classroom than in it. It’s when many learn how to live independently for the first time, discover their true calling, conquer insecurities and rise to significant challenges. For the exceptionally fortunate, it’s also when they meet their true love.

There’s no telling how many people have met as Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) students and gone on to tie the knot.

Here are two of those stories:

A Million to One

The likelihood that Esteban Gonzalez and Valentina Velasquez would ever meet was at least a million to one. Both grew up in different Latin American countries – Esteban in Monterrey, Mexico, and Valentina in Manizales, Colombia. The two cities are well over 4,000 miles apart as the crow flies, so the chances that two people from these cities would ever meet already infinitesimal – the chance they would meet on the GGC campus borders on impossible.

But, as luck would have it, Esteban’s parents immigrated to the United States in 2000 when he was 5 years old, and Valentina’s in 2008 when she was 17. Both families settled in Gwinnett County for work and because they liked the school system.

This placed the two young people just miles apart. When they both chose to attend GGC, those miles shrunk down to yards, and then feet, and then inches, until the day in 2017 they were introduced by mutual friends at a soccer game in Atlanta.

They both noticed the same thing about each other right away.

“She has a strong personality, but I could tell right away she had a good heart,” he said.

“He was funny, and I could tell he had a good heart,” she said.

Their friendship was instant and, over time, grew into something more. They started dating, and their adoration for each other kept getting stronger. Then, on Valentina’s 29th birthday, Esteban surprised her with a black labrador retriever puppy named Belky. She was overjoyed, and then she noticed the puppy’s collar had a strange tag with something written on it. She pulled the tag straight to find the words, “Will you marry me?”

They were married on August 21, 2021, in Santiago Nuevo León, México.

Valentina says her favorite thing about Esteban is how safe she feels with him.

“I can be myself around him, and he loves me as I am,” she said.

Esteban said his favorite thing about his wife is the strong personality he saw the first day they met.

“I love that she is a hardworking woman who never takes no for an answer and always tries to see the best in people,” he said.

Esteban graduated in 2016 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in international business. Valentina graduated in 2016 with a business administration degree and a concentration in finance. Today, Esteban is a project engineer for Archer Western Contractors in Atlanta, and Valentina is a digital marketing manager at Lanier Islands Resort in Buford.

In July 2022, their family expanded when they welcomed daughter Antonella. Belky is still living her best life as the cutest wingman ever.

Love at Second Sight

Mauricio and Natalie Zelada met at the very beginning of their GGC careers during the March Through the Arch welcoming celebration in 2012. They had no idea they had already been peers at Collins Hill High School in Lawrenceville for four years.

Natalie chose GGC because she wanted to be close to home for the commute and knew GGC had an excellent teaching program. Mauricio chose GGC to study criminal justice but switched majors to marketing.

“We didn’t meet until we came to GGC,” said Natalie. “I thought he was super cute, but it wasn’t love at first sight. I had just gotten out of a previous relationship, so when he asked me to have coffee with him, I declined.”

They remained friends for the first few months of college until it was apparent something more powerful was developing between them. Mauricio decided to try again and asked Natalie to dinner at a Macaroni Grill. This time, she happily accepted.

“I don’t remember what either of us ordered or what we talked about, but I remember feeling both nervous and excited simultaneously,” Natalie. “He was a gentleman and made sure I was taken care of, and since I was still living at home at the time, he made sure to drive me back and say hello to my family as well.”

That sealed the deal.  

They officially started dating in March 2015. Three years later, Mauricio surprised Natalie by proposing to her at their church, surrounded by friends and family. They were married that June.

Natalie said her favorite thing about Mauricio is his ability to understand others.

“He is aware of others’ emotions and is very empathetic to what they need,” she said.

Mauricio said he loves how approachable and easy to talk to Natalie is.

“That was one of the first things I loved about her,” he said. “We have so much in common, and I love her passion for teaching and getting to know more about her field.”

Natalie graduated with a degree in elementary education in 2016, and Mauricio followed in 2018 with a degree in business with a concentration in marketing. Today, Natalie teaches second grade at Rock Springs Elementary School in Lawrenceville, and Mauricio is an accountant at Store My Truck in Norcross. They had their first baby, Evelyn, in January.

“I am so grateful to have met my incredible husband at GGC,” Natalie said. “He is an amazing husband and father.”

View and download GGC alumni love story gallery photos.