Kate is a 22 year old graduate of Saint Olaf College. She grew up in the beautiful western mountains of Maine before coming to the flat Midwest, where she met her future husband. Kate's degrees are in Russian and Russian studies, but she also speaks German and a bit of French. This year she has been taking a break from her language studies to test software for Epic Sytems Corporation in Madison and reinforce her belief that she doesn't want to sit in front of a computer for the next fifty years like Tom will. She loves all forms of dance, and currently performs with an international folk dance group in Madison. Having grown up in a northern climate, Kate also enjoys winter activities such as skiing and curling up with a cup of hot cocoa to read Anne of Green Gables. When her schedule permits, she travels home to Maine to visit her parents, brother and sister and to get a dose of real snow. Tom is still trying to convince her that Missouri is part of the Midwest, and not the Deep South.
Tom is a 23 year old graduate student in the Computer Sciences department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He graduated from St. Olaf College, where he met Kate, with degrees in Math, Physics, and Computer Science. Tom grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he played dangerous bike/rollerblade games with his 3 brothers and sister. He enjoys playing on the Mississippi with his family as well- swimming, tubing, knee-boarding, jet-skiing, etc. Tom also really enjoys music. He has played the piano since he was 6, and is excited to be practicing again here in Madison, thanks to a new keyboard. He also plays handbells and collects MP3s. He particularly likes punk polka music, and hopes to learn the Wisconsin (jumpy-style) polka in the near future. Tom likes drawing (especially in class), and is fond of well-drawn comics. He is an avid reader of science fiction and Bill Bryson books. Since meeting Kate, Tom has come to appreciate milk shakes in the middle of winter.
Kate and Tom got to know each other during Tom's last semester at Saint Olaf. They were introduced by Tom's roommate Sam. Kate was looking for a dance partner, and Tom couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend time with a pretty girl (despite the fact that the debilitating condition of having two left feet somewhat limited his dancing ability). They carried on in the face of his handicap, and got to know each other through other activities as well, such as watching really bad French movies. They came to know the whims of the Russian phone service when Kate spent a semester studying abroad in Krasnodar, Russia, while Tom started his studies at the University of Wisconsin. Kate moved to Madison this past summer to be closer to Tom while he finishes up school. After weighing their options for next year, they have decided to move to Nashua, New Hampshire, where Tom will work for Oracle Corporation.
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