It's something that happens often with our grads — that connection, that shared interest, that same excellent taste in engineering schools. Whatever the spark, there are quite a few Lyles School of Civil Engineering couples that either graduated as a couple or met later in their professional lives.

One such couple is Cheryl Cunningham (BSCE '80) and Chester "Chet" Parsons (BSCE '74). They met each other at work (now known as Parsons, Cunningham & Shartle Engineering) in 1992, when Cheryl moved from California to work at Chet's Indianapolis-based firm.

Cheryl says her friendship with Chet was near-instant, and the romantic relationship slowly developed over time.

"We got along right away," she says. "There was just this immediate connection we had. We both had the same college background and shared many of the same interests. We just complemented each other perfectly."

A Rainy-Day Relationship

"We have the nerdiest relationship in the world," Chet says. "We love all the little details about civil engineering. One of our favorite things to do was - when it would rain - we would get in our car and look at our designs and see what they looked like in wet weather."

Cheryl also wants to inspire young girls with a love for engineering. She and her sister, Judith, have published three children's books aimed at getting girls interested in the engineering field. Their books can be found at icanbeanengineer.com.

Ask Cheryl and Chet what they personally love most about civil engineering, and they'll say it's working together on a project and tackling the problem from different angles.

"My background is more structural and hers is more water management, so we are able to approach a project from all sides," Chet says. "We’re a perfect match. From our first designs together, I could feel a spark between us."

Cheryl says that their shared connection with Purdue further fueled their relationship.

"It is such a wonderful thing to have that connection with him," she says. "We go to Purdue games all the time now, and that's something I never really did before we were together. It's funny, but in a way, it was our loving connection to each other that deepened our connection to Purdue."