Excerpt from an article by Deborah Strange | NC State News
It’s February, which means love is in the air at NC State.
Making fluttering eye contact across the stacks in D.H. Hill Library. Parlaying study sessions into dinner dates in Talley Student Union. Strolling through the Brickyard, hand and hand. Could anything be more romantic?
We spend lots of time touting our research wins and world-leading programs, but there’s something else worth celebrating that begins on our campus: lifelong relationships. For Valentine’s Day, we caught up with alums whose love stories were shaped by the Wolfpack. Now, as their relationships have flourished, their hearts ever hold NC State — and each other.
A Red and White (Re)union
Abe Washington and Alexis Corbitt Washington ’06 first met through mutual friends when Alexis was a freshman and Abe was a senior. But it was more than a decade later that their relationship kindled.
Abe had graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and, after serving in the Air Force, settled in Washington, D.C. Alexis, a Park Scholar, had graduated in 2006 and become a dentist. In Washington, Abe became an Alumni Association network leader for NC State graduates in the area, helping host watch parties for sporting events and organize service projects. During one watch party in 2017, he and Alexis recognized each other. Sparks flew and they exchanged numbers, meeting up at other alumni events and parties.
“NC State, as Abe likes to say, gives you the ‘warm and fuzzies,’” Alexis said. “The Alumni Association allows us to reminisce about those warm and fuzzy times when we became who we are at NC State.”
Soon, their deep friendship turned into a romantic relationship, and in 2020, they became engaged. Abe had high hopes of proposing to Alexis at the Memorial Belltower, but it was under renovation to install 55 new bells. Instead, he proposed in Washington, and the two took engagement photos on campus.
They married on Dec. 31 in Alexis’ hometown in St. Croix. Although the traditional New Year’s Eve Carnival was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Abe and Alexis brought the festivities to their wedding, including soca music, dancers and feathered accessories.
“It was my dreams coming true, quite literally,” Alexis said. “I’m marrying an awesome man on New Year’s Eve with my close friends and family.”
It took eight years for Abe to earn his bachelor’s degree, as he dealt with injuries, changed majors and navigated scholarships. But those hurdles were worth it.
“Even though it took me eight years to graduate, I wouldn’t change anything because everything had to happen to get me where I am now,” Abe said.
“And he met me,” Alexis added.
“That was the next thing I was going to say — if I had graduated on time, I would’ve never met Alexis,” Abe continued. “Everything I went through at NC State happened for a reason.”
