The more the merrier, right? That’s why I love the Couples Edition of Campus Cuties. Here is this week’s cute couple, Leif and Libby. Read on to see how these two sophomores were able to successfully transition their relationship from high school to college.
Name: Libby Oehrlein
Year: 2017
Major: Education Studies and Psychology
Minor: Dance
Hometown: Chester, NJ
Hobbies: Yoga, Modern Dance, Working with kids (Yes, I know Leif has way more cool hobbies than I do)
Name: Leif Catania
Year: 2017
Major: Business
Hometown: Mendham, NJ
Hobbies: Lacrosse (Leif is a member of Skidmore’s Men’s Lacrosse Team), Storage container auctions, fly fishing, pretending to be Johnny Manziel, boating/yachting on the Tender Gypsy, club hockey, fantasy football, urban foraging, and home brewing.
HC: How long have you two known each other and how long have you been dating?
Libby: Leif and I have known each other since freshman year of high school and have been dating for a little over 2 years.
Leif: We have known each other since freshman year in high school but only been dating since the end of junior year of high school. I regret taking so long for us to start dating but it gave us the chance to become best friends.
HC: What were your first impressions of each other?
Libby: I thought Leif was a goofball. We met in a big group of people back when it was cool to hang out in our shopping plaza with friends during freshman year. I didn’t attend high school with Leif freshman year because I had to move to Montreal for my dad’s job for the year, but that didn’t stop us from talking everyday since we met. Back then he had long swoopy hair and I distinctly remember him dragging this huge, long branch along the ground and being super hilarious. Typical Leif. I remember laughing so hard and being really attracted to that funny quality in him.
Leif: I first met her when she was visiting New Jersey from Montreal, where she had recently moved. I thought it was pretty neat that she was living out of the country. Also I thought she was one of the nicest and most attractive people I had ever met. We immediately began talking non-stop from then on.
HC: What are your favorite qualities in each other?
Libby: I’ve known Leif for a long time, so I have lots of favorite qualities, but I would have to say that one of my favorites is his ability to read me right away, know how I’m feeling, and know how to respond. Because we were best friends for years before we started dating, he knows me better than anyone. More specifically, I love that when I am down and grumpy, he knows exactly how to make me laugh and loosen up. Another quality I really want to highlight about Leif is that he would truly do anything for anyone. I really admire this about Leif and I try to be more like him in this way.
Leif: I love how Libby is still the nicest person in the world. She is also incredibly funny, loves to have fun, adventurous, beautiful, and easy to talk to. I also love how she puts up with my busy schedule and ridiculous ideas. She is so supportive of everything I do; she is perfect.
HC: What’s your favorite date night plan?
Libby: I always have fun with Leif whether we are just staying in and watching movies all night or going out for a more of a formal date. It’s harder in college to plan date nights especially when money is tight, but we like going to movies in town or out to dinner, and the other day we went for a walk in the Saratoga State Park. We have done lots of things and been lots of places together, so we are always down for new date adventures. One time we road tripped all the way from New Jersey to Nova Scotia!
Leif: Going out for dinner and ice cream (black raspberry with chocolate sprinkles) in Portland, Maine.
HC: How do you two keep things exciting?
Libby: I would say that Leif and I really put in an effort to balance time with friends and time with each other. We do separate activities and have separate interests academically. This make things way more interesting whenever we get together because we have lots to catch up on. Although there are times when we are each going through things, we like to keep humor as part of our relationship and keep each other positive.
Leif: One thing we do is we like to spend a lot of our time with our friends. That way the time we spend together is more meaningful. Also, Libby is the most interesting person I have ever met, so I always look forward to spending time with her because of that.