Flame burns bright for college sweethearts

It was a beautiful, temperate Saturday in June when UIC alumnus Kevin Johnson (LAS ’15) brought his college sweetheart, Madeleine Biagioli (ENG ’16), back to the very spot where they met six years ago in history class.

Johnson would sit next to Biagioli in Lecture Center F and strike up a conversation now and again.

“She would always leave a few minutes before lecture let out to make it to the old Chemical Engineering Building,” Johnson said. “So, I didn’t really have a lot of opportunities to catch her between classes.”

By the end of the semester, Johnson had yet to find a good time to ask her out. So, on the last day of class, he passed her a note asking for her number. They’ve been together ever since.

On June 6, Johnson suggested they visit their favorite restaurant near campus. On a leisurely post-meal stroll, he led her to Lecture Center F, where he nervously handed her another note. This time, asking her to marry him.

She answered with an emphatic “Yes!”