Her story

Dana was born in Omaha, Nebraska at St. Joseph's hospital on May 22, 1979. She was 21 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces. She is the youngest of three children. Her older brother Allan lives in Denver, Colorado and will be getting married in August of 2002 to his fiance Natalie. Her older sister Stephanie lives in Omaha with her husband Parker. Steph will graduate from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in August.

Dana is a 2001 graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a degree in Organizational Communications and Public Relations. Dana has always had a flair for communication. Even when she was a little tike, she never had difficulty communicating exactly what she wanted. This was an asset as her family made several moves throughout her childhood to different cities. Ever the social butterfly, Dana has always been able to make friends quickly and easily.

Dana attended UNK for her first two years of college and then participated in a junior year exchange with the State University of New York in Ithaca. Dana is very grateful to all of the people who have helped her throughout her short 22 years, and she is looking forward to starting new friendships and a new life with Derek.

His story

Derek was born in Fremont, Nebraska at the Fremont Area Medical Center on March 15, 1978. He started out tall at 22 1/2 inches long and weighed 9 pounds 1 ounce. He has one older brother, Brendan, who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Derek graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in May of 2000, and he now works for IBM in Rochester, Minnesota.

Derek played basketball in college and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He received his degree in Facilities Management and Ergonomics and is using that knowledge in his current position as a facilities manager with IBM. Living in Minnesota has been quite a transition for Derek and he is wondering if he can survive another Icelandic winter like the one he just experienced. His many new coworkers and friends in Rochester have made up for the adverse weather, and the months to come will be even better as Dana will be moving to Rochester.

Their story

Dana and Derek were friends in high school and started dating during Dana's junior year and Derek's senior year. When Derek left for New York in 1996, no one thought the relationship would last; but they defied the odds and maintained a long distance relationship. Dana lived in Ithaca throughout Derek's senior year. That year was the first time that the two of them got to be together for a period of longer than 3 months. That time proved to be a tuning point for them, and Dana and Derek were engaged in June of 2000. They have spent the past year preparing for their big day. Derek has made quite a few trips back and forth from Rochester, and Dana has spent many weekends in Fremont planning for the wedding. With all of the excitement surrounding the next few months, Dana and Derek want to thank all of the people who have influenced them along the way. It has been a long and exciting journey, and the best is yet to come.

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