A blossoming York St John Romance – Alumni Stories, Thais and James Dean

It’s Valentines Day this coming Sunday, so we thought we’d share a heart warming story with you, from two our Alumni, who fell in love at York St John, and were married just last year.

In this, our latest blog, Thais and James share with us their journey, from meeting for the first time at York St John in 2010, through to their first few months of married life, following their wedding in October last year.

The very first time Thais & James met was at Keystones during the Freshers week of 2010. James was Social Sec for YSJ Cricket Club, hosting a ‘timeless’ social there. They had invited a group of Americans to join the club at the Club/Society fair earlier that week but never imagined they would actually turn up. So along came 3 Americans to the ‘social gathering’ at Keystones and somehow they had persuaded them to actually join! A Women’s Cricket Club (made of Americans and English women) was formed for the first time in YSJ history!

Thais and James stayed in touch and started to spend a lot more time together at YSJ. YSJ is the type of University that has a close community feel about it. Here you have a name, you are not just a number. The Student Union became a focal point where they always met before exploring the beautiful city of York.

Coincidentally, Thais was living at Lang house in ‘The Grange’ which was literally a two minute walk to where James lived on Earle street.

They officially went on their first date on October 10, 2010 and were inseparable from that day on. They enjoyed the winter together in York and James showed this Brazilian/American a thing or two about the Brits. When it came time for Thais to return to America, they knew they could not bear to be apart. Thousands of phone calls later, many Skype dates, emails, and journeys across the pond, the couple remains stronger than ever! And since the two spent so much time in and out of airports, it only made sense for James to propose in one.

Who would have thought that Thais, born in Brazil, would have to move to America and then travel to England just to meet her soulmate.

They had their wedding in 2015 on the same day it all started, October 10th. The couple decided to have their wedding in England. In fact, for their hen/stag do, they decided to take a trip down memory lane, along with family and friends, and revisit YSJ by starting the party just like always, in the Students Union!

Today, James and Thais live happily in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Thais has her Master Degree and is currently a hospice social worker. James is a coach for a ‘soccer’ Academy and is currently in pursuit of a teaching position in the area. The couple hope to start a family in the years to come. Thais and James feel blessed to have met one another and will always hold YSJ close to their heart.

If you have a story that you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear it! You can get in touch by e-mailing us at alumni@yorksj.ac.uk