It all began September 2009 at Rider University of New Jersey.  Derek and Carolynn had briefly seen each other a few times throughout their four years at Rider,  but they were both in relationships at the time. Out of chance, they sat next to each other in their hip hop class senior year. Later that week Carolynn attended one of Derek’s house parties with a group of friends. From that night on they were inseparable.
After five years of living together, they were getting ready to leave for their annual trip to New York City Christmas night. Before leaving to get on the train, Derek got down on one knee and asked Carolynn to marry him.
