Celebrating How the College Experience Creates Connection

The college experiences for many are a time of learning and self-discovery, but that time also establishes lifelong friendships, relationships and other connections. Inspired by both Valentine’s Day and part of the theme of the 2026 Social Work Month, “Social Work: Uplift. Defend. Transform.”

The FSU College of Social Work reached out to alumni and friends to ask about the loving connections formed during their time in their social work programs and through their experiences at Florida State to uplift fellow social workers and friends. Several of the stories are shared below.
 

Thea Jones (BS ’19, MSW ’20) and Monte’Kis Jones (BS ’19)

“We met on Oct 31, 2018, at Market Wednesday. We both graduated the next semester, but I started my MSW right away and he went to work. Unbeknownst at the time, his new job would be” Thea Shared. “We owe so much to FSU, not just for shaping us and providing our degrees, but also for giving us each other.”
 

Elliot Schmidt (BSW ’18, MSW ’19) and Anne Nicole Dela Cruz (BSW ’18, MSW ’19)

Nicole and Elliot met at the FSU College of Social Work in 2017, after being introduced by the beloved Pam Graham MacDill. Although they went to high school only 45 minutes apart, they never met until the College of Social Work brought them together. They went on to hit all major social work-related milestones together: BSW graduation in 2018, MSWs in 2019, and LCSWs in 2022.

 

Heather Harrell (BSW ’12, MSW ’14) and Brent Harrell (BS ’13)

“I've now been married to my husband for almost 13 years, and we met at the very beginning of our time at FSU! The very first weekend of freshman year, our parents were there to help us get moved in and they happened to be staying in the same hotel. They struck up a conversation over the continental breakfast and learned we were both going to be living in Landis. A few hours later, I was knocking on a strange boy's door to say, ‘Hi, I think our moms met?’

My time in the College of Social Work overlapped with our year of friendship, 2 years of dating, engagement and even the first few months of our married life as I finished my field placement. The year he was an RA in Wildwood was nice because I had a perfect excuse to stop and rest for a while on the long walk from the stadium ‘Building C’ to...anywhere else on campus! Like good stereotypical college sweethearts, we got married a week after graduation. We moved to DC and I found my home in hospital social work. I have been working at Children's National Hospital almost all of the time since then!”
 

Laura Summerlin (BSW ’08, MSW ’10) and Zack Summerlin (MSW ’10)

“The ‘story’ is that he and I were students returning to school after both having other careers for several years. We unofficially met right after orientation when we had a graduate assistant meeting and were asked to sign documentation. Having only brought a pencil to this situation, I had to borrow a pen from the somewhat shy, unsuspecting guy to my right. No other words, or even names, were exchanged.

Next thing we know, the semester begins and we share 3 of our classes and are working as graduate assistants 10 hours a week together. I was in no way interested in dating anyone and neither was he. So obviously, that meant we ended up dating each other after several months of being just friends and studying together for our exams. Turns out the shy unsuspecting guy that loaned me a pen had a great personality and a sweet smile.

We started dating at the end of November 2008. No one knew, because we liked the idea of keeping it professional. This, unfortunately, meant I had to watch other people try to flirt with him (unsuccessfully, to be clear). The person we worked for as graduate assistants, who we respected and enjoyed working with, began engaging in some attempts to 'matchmake' and we finally had to disclose to her that we had actually been dating for 6 months. Oops. We were engaged at the end of 2009 and married in April of 2010, and many people still didn't know we were even dating. We are both pretty proud of that.
 

Brice Overcash (BSW ’09, MSW ’10) and Amy Overcash (MSW ’09)

“I first noticed Amy in college when we took a domestic violence course together, “ shared Brice. “She was completing her MSW while I was finishing my BSW and I was immediately drawn to her, though at the time she was dating someone else. Our paths kept crossing, including one memorable near-miss when she and friends stopped by the restaurant where I bartended, but I had just left because it was slow that night.

Finally, in January 2009, we were both single and I went to a birthday party for a mutual social work friend hosted at Amy’s apartment. When Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy the Silence’ came on, she mentioned how much she loved it and I, being a big Depeche Mode fan, fell in love at that exact moment. I left when the party was over, sat in my car for 10–15 minutes working up the courage, then went back and asked her out. I fully expected a polite rejection, but she actually said yes with real enthusiasm.

 We had our first date a week later. That spring, she graduated and began her career at Mathematica in New Jersey. We navigated a year of long-distance dating while I completed my MSW, synchronizing movie and TV watching together while we talked on the phone. After graduation, I moved up to New Jersey and joined the same organization. We married in 2011, built a home together, and are now raising two children. We’re still happily married—and I’m still grateful I went back upstairs that night.”
 

Rebecca Harter (BSW ’98 and MSW ’98) and Robert Harter (BS ’96, MS ‘11)

“Robert and I are both proud Seminoles, and FSU has truly been woven into our family’s story,” shared Rebecca. “We met at Florida State in 1994, and married in 2002. I graduated with my BSW from the FSU College of Social Work in 1996 and went on to earn my MSW in 1998. My husband, Robert, also earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Florida State. Our shared values around service, community, and relationships were deeply shaped by our time at FSU. FSU helped us make connections with people that we consider lifelong friends and continue to meet with for several tailgates each football season.

During my years at Florida State, I was also the founder, president, and team competitor of the FSU Equestrian Club, an experience that remains especially meaningful as the team continues to thrive today. Full circle, our daughter is now a member of that same equestrian club, which feels like a beautiful continuation of the FSU legacy.

We have three children, one of whom is currently a Seminole studying Engineering and recently had a wonderful study-abroad experience through FSU International Programs in London. As a family, we are Seminoles through and through, and we’re excited that we soon have our second daughter on her way to becoming a proud Seminole! And the third…maybe in a few years!

I am a licensed clinical social worker with the Memorial Healthcare System, where I have worked for more than 25 years, and the founder of a growing private practice dedicated to working with seniors. I am deeply fulfilled by supporting older adults through life transitions and strive to provide compassionate, thoughtful, and evidence-based care, work that continues to be shaped by the strong foundation I received through my education at Florida State University.”

Renée (MSW '05) and Ryan (MS '05)

“He was getting his master’s degree at FSU as well, and we were both in our first semester (fall of 2003). There was a graduate school social at a local bar where we met and have been together ever since! This May, we will celebrate 20 years of marriage. We live in the Jacksonville area, love to travel, and we have two active teenagers.
 

Diana Lewis Ledbetter (BS ’76) and Martha Maddox Cotton (BS ’76)

Diana shared, “There are all kinds of love stories, and this one might not be what you expect. Still, it has lasted over fifty years, and that’s a story worth telling. Martha and I briefly met in one of our social work classes in the Bellamy Building in 1973, and we began to know more about each other as we toured two Sunland facilities, Florida State Hospital and the FCI prison in Tallahassee. But our friendship really developed during our internship at the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. We were assigned about six clients each. During that semester, we began learning skills that would carry us through our entire careers. I remember accompanying each other to clients’ homes out in the country and visiting them in nursing homes. We spoke into Dictaphones to update the case files.

Martha was married, but I was still single at this time. Eventually, though, I married, and then the children started coming. She had three daughters, and I had three sons – all during a six-year period. Birthday parties, beach parties, and vacations filled the next few years. Before we knew it there were graduations and marriages and grandchildren!

Throughout these years, we worked several jobs. She worked at Apalachee Mental Health, Leon County Schools, Juvenile Detention Center, and together we worked at the Department of Children and Families. We went from written case files at DCF to the birth of the FLORIDA system and computer programming. Exciting times!
We’ve been to weddings and our mothers’ funerals together. She is the first person I call when I need comforting or advice. And vice versa. We are both now retired. We are no longer being paid to help others. We do it for free. She delivers Meals on Wheels and occasionally works with programs at a nearby school. I’m involved with the Golden Agers program at my church. Every day is an adventure!

What if we had not been in the same classes? What if we had majored in something else? But thankfully, our paths did cross, and we began walking through life together. We love each othe,r and life is good. Thank you, School of Social Work, for bringing us together.”

Donna Rorabaugh Mattison (BSW ’69, MSW ’73) and Gale Mattison (MSW ’73)

Donna shared, “After attending the initial orientation for our graduate program, we met in what was then called the Student Union. Gale had recently returned to his home in New Hampshire after a combat tour in Vietnam and being discharged from the Army as a 1st Lieutenant. I had recently completed 2.5 years as a social worker in central Florida.

It all started with an invitation, from an older fellow student friend who I had worked with in Orlando and was boarding with in her rental home, for Gale to bring a 6-pack to her house for a visit and to help paint a couple of rooms.

The next 18 months, with just a few breaks, were filled with meeting new friends; as I recall, our class began with 90 students. Learning time in class and completion with required assignments were often followed up with learning more about prior experiences of our classmates and, especially for those not Florida residents, being able to travel and learn more about sunny Florida.

Gale and I both made a lot of new friends during the first six months at FSU. Then, over the next 12 months, we realized that our connection was growing stronger. Sometime in the fall of 1972, we became engaged, and we were married in the University Episcopal Chapel by a priest who was one of our fellow students; another classmate sang at the Wedding. One of our professors had scheduled a final exam on our wedding date. She cancelled the exam and joined some of the other professors and classmates at our wedding. Our graduation certificates and marriage license have the same date, March 23, 1973.

After living in New Hampshire for 8 years and having our one and only child there, we moved to Connecticut for about 40 years, and made our final and last move to California to be closer to our son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren who are now 9 and 12. Our next anniversary will be celebrated 53 years.