UBC Alumni Affairs
Devon and Karin with friend
My wife and I got married this past July (2006), but we met each other in a piano techniques class at the UBC school of music. Leading up to now, our story took a few twists.
I knew there was something special about my wife when we first met in 1997, but many circumstances involved with each of our situations made it impossible for us to become involved romantically. Primarily, she was the graduate teacher’s assistant in my piano class lab. The fact that she was my teacher at that time made it inappropriate for us to be involved in any relationship besides our student/teacher association.
Besides this, I think that we were both involved in other relationships at the time. Nevertheless, I felt compelled to show up to my lab on Friday afternoons with – not an apple – but cookies from Blue Chip in the SUB (chocolate chunk and java nut were her favorites).
At the beginning of class I would put the bag of cookies on her desk and go to the back of the class and work for the rest of class. At the end of class, I would ask her “would you like to go for coffee or a drink at the Graduate Pub?” To that she said “thank you, but no: I am your TA and you are my student. That would not be appropriate,” or something like that.
That became a cute weekly tradition we had during the two years she was the TA for that course: two years of requisite Class Piano that we all had to take as undergrads. After completing my two years, we both became too busy in our own demanding programs to pay much notice to each other. That is, until I hired her to accompany me on the piano. We had remained acquaintances, but had not yet had the chance to work on a musical project together. In this new situation as colleagues there was no longer the moral obstacle present in our previous teacher/student association.
At that time, I was so focussed on the stress of preparing for my solo recital that I didn’t have the wits to ask her out. She had to take it upon herself to ask me out: “After rehearsal tomorrow, let’s go out for a drink. And so you are aware, this is a date.”
We continued dating, and after graduation moved to Toronto where for two years I completed graduate study at U of T and she took a job at the Royal Conservatory of Music. During our courtship, two more years were spent long distance while she had a full time position at Brock University and I taught part time at Laurentian University and Cambrian College in Sudbury. I eventually came to my senses and proposed in December 2004.
Life as a trailing spouse is going well and I am currently an instructor at the University where my wife is on the tenure track. Married life is treating us well, and we are grateful that we had the chance to meet at UBC.
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