Winthrop is a place where students can expand their knowledge, express themselves, and develop their craft. But for some students, it is also the place where they meet the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with.
Samra & Deonte
For juniors Samra Streeter, 21, and Deonte Streeter, 21, the connection was something they both felt immediately.
They met while they were both auditioning for Winthrop’s production of “The Wiz” and found themselves ready to get engaged only a month after they started dating.
“Even before we started dating, when we were just working in ‘The Wiz’ together, before we had actually held a real conversation, I was like ‘that guy is my husband,’” Samra said. “All of my friends thought I was crazy.”
The couple got married on Dec. 20, 2017, only eight months into their relationship together.
Getting married so young and so early in a relationship is sometimes frowned upon, but Samra and Deonte don’t seem to be letting anyone’s negative opinions affect their decision.
Photo provided by the Streeters
“We just kind of knew. Initially our plan was to wait… then it was kind of like, ‘what’s the wait?’ If we already know, why not just go ahead and start enjoying forever together right now?” Samra said.
While they’re still making memories together, one of Samra’s favorite memories of their relationship was the day she turned 21. For Samra’s birthday, Deonte surprised her by getting a list of things Samra had always wanted to do from her best friend and checking off items from the list.
“What I love about him the most is the way he expresses his love,” Samra said. “He’s always found some of the most unique ways to show his love. I never guess it… It’ll be just random things. It keeps it fun.”
Deonte said he was grateful that Winthrop brought him and Samra together, but he also believes being married in college has its cons as well.
“The cons being that everyone is watching you. With the pessimistic society we live in today, everyone’s waiting on you to fail,” Deonte said. “So we’ve had people say things, who have had ill wishes towards us, that’s fine. I just strongly believe that love is an undefeated power. You can’t fight love.”
Lauren & Phillip
Seniors Lauren Macdonald, 21, and Phillip Macdonald, 22, had their first date freshman year watching the sunrise at Winthrop Lake on Valentine’s Day.
“It was freezing. We laid in an ENO with like three comforters,” Lauren said. “I was 15 minutes late for our date. He thought I was going to stand him up.”
Ever since then, the couple has continued the tradition of watching the sunrise on Valentine’s Day, choosing different locations each year.
“We’re both horrible at mornings. If we don’t have anything until 2 p.m., we will sleep until at least 11 a.m.,” Phillip laughed about their sunrise tradition. “But I like tradition, so I’ll do it for tradition.”
Pulling out a box of notebooks and photographs, Phillip scanned through the various memories he kept written down from his and Lauren’s relationship.
“It’s very hard for me to find someone that can take all my quirks. For instance, my crazy obsession with organization and compartmentalizing,” he said, pointing at the box. “I’m just not ordinary in any regard… but she gets that, and she can rock with that.”
For Phillip, his and Lauren’s journey began when he saw her perform in the One Act Festival at Winthrop.
“He saw me in a one act… I was an old lady, dressed up like an old woman and he saw me and he was like, ‘I could marry her,” Lauren joked.
Phillip said he had been “impressed by her talent” and the couple then began to get to know each other through Winthrop’s Swing Dancing Club.
“College allows you to be so close, in kind of a protected realm where you don’t necessarily have to worry about a full-time job or that kind of stuff. So you can focus more on your relationship and take advantage of the social aspects there are in place,” Lauren said. “Like we climb at the rock wall a lot and we both work there. [Winthrop] has been a nice place to call home.”
After dating for nearly three years, Lauren and Phillip got married on Dec. 29, 2017 and both plan to graduate in May.
Claire & David
Alumni David Thackham, 25, and Claire VanOstenbridge, 26, met while both working for The Johnsonian their freshman year at Winthrop.
They started dating after David returned from a study abroad trip in Ireland the year before they graduated in 2014. After getting engaged in 2016, the couple got married in Greenville on July 22, 2017.
“I just think whenever I’m with him and I see him, I’m happy. I can’t describe the sensation I feel inside, but it’s just instant happiness. I’m home. I’m complete. I feel good,” Claire said.
The couple branched out from Rock Hill while David got a job in Georgia and Claire completed her Masters at Furman University, but they always knew they wanted to find their way back to the area they first met.
“We took a lot of trips back to this area because we always just felt the draw like ‘aw, let’s go to Charlotte, let’s go visit Rock Hill.’ We always just wanted to come back,” Claire said.
So when Claire got a job opportunity to work in the nearby Clover School District and David the opportunity to work at The Herald in Rock Hill, they said they felt like the stars had aligned.
“Meeting and living in Rock Hill, the York County area was very important to us. And so when we got the opportunities that we did… we jumped on it,” David said. “The stars did align for us and it just means that much more that we can be in our favorite place, and I can be with my favorite woman.”
Love and romance isn’t something everyone will and wants to find in college, but for Samra and Deonte, Lauren and Phillip, and David and Claire, Winthrop allowed them to find just that.
“It wouldn’t be realistic to say, ‘if you go to college, you’ll find the person of your dreams.’ But what college did for both of us was enhance our confidence and enhance who we thought we were as people,” David said. “So I can’t thank Winthrop enough for the opportunity to grow into myself and to realize what my goals are and what I knew I was going to be doing for my future.”
For more on these couples and other couples’ stories, check out our full video on mytjnow.com.
