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Hedya Aryani ’04 and Corey Norcross '09 are recently engaged.... and the proposal happened at ���ճԹ�!

How did you meet?

Hedya: We met twice in the same way at the Happy Friday Happy Hour in Philadelphia.

Corey: Hedya and I didn’t go to ���ճԹ� at the same time, but her younger sister Samar was a year behind me. At the Happy Hour, I saw Samar and went to say “hello” and she introduced me to Hedya. We quickly figured out that we had a connection ... I was in law school at the time and one of my professors was a partner at Hedya's law firm.

Nothing much came of that meeting but the following year, I am at the same Happy Hour and again see Samar talking to Hedya. I pretended not to remember her and walked over to say hi to Samar, who re-introduced me to Hedya. I was flustered because I thought she was attractive, so I decided to talk about our common connection again. Hedya stopped me to say, “We’ve had this conversation before.” She then said, “You know what I have been thinking about? Starting a BMC lawyers club. Do you want to get together for dinner to talk about it?"

Hedya: It was a legit interest of mine.

Corey: We went out for a 4- or 5-hour dinner and never once talked about the BMC lawyers club.

Describe your experiences at ���ճԹ� with each other.

Hedya: Because we are 5 years apart, we didn’t attend ���ճԹ� at the same time but have other memories together as alumnae. The main one is getting engaged in the London Room. I specifically chose to propose there so we could have a really meaningful memory of ���ճԹ� together.

Describe your connection with each other today.

Hedya: I think we share a sense of being intellectual equals and I think a lot of that comes from having that shared ���ճԹ� education and way of looking at the world with a sense of intellectual curiosity. It’s always been part of our dynamic. The quality of our conversations has always stood out to me.

Corey: Commonality of intellectual drive and curiosity. It gets sprinkled throughout our lives. There is a perspective about the world that we share.

Share your favorite story or anecdote about your relationship.

Corey: A few years ago, my friend Aly Honsa ‘09 got married at ���ճԹ�. She was the first of my friends to get married and I officiated. It was a really special time. My friends were starting to move to new cities and we didn’t see each other as regularly. Hedya and I had been dating for a while, but the night before, I slept over at Wyndham with the bridal party to get ready. Hedya made a point to get there early the next morning. She was so sweet and thoughtful. She brought this lovely bottle of champagne for the group to share.

We got to re-explore BMC together. The whole bridal party took photos across campus, but I remember Hedya and I in particular. It was home for both us even though we weren’t there at the same time.

Hedya: Mawrters have their core group of friends and for people who aren’t Mawrters, that can be difficult to understand. But I already got it with her. I could already transition into her group of BMC friends and she could do the same with mine. I really liked and appreciated that.

How do you support and remain connected to the College today and why?

Hedya: Well there’s financial giving. We’re both donors. We try to go to local events and be in the company of other Mawrters. It’s nice to be in a space with that energy. To the extent we are called on by current students, we try to be helpful in that way. That’s probably the most meaningful. You look into the faces of current students and talk about your professional and personal path. Being on a panel and looking into the faces of the next generation of Mawrters is really special.