We rounded up 5 of the cutest UNC love stories for Valentine’s Day

Mikaila Mitchell was studying for her upcoming finals her sophomore year at UNC with her boyfriend. They had decided to take a break and were walking by the Bell Tower when they ran into their friend.

The friend asked them if they had read the book that they were carrying. Her boyfriend said that he had, but Mitchell, a little confused, said no. The friend immediately handed her the book and told her to read it right away.

Mitchell, now fully perplexed, said “Oh, yeah, I’m just going to sit here and read it.” 

“No, open it,” her boyfriend interjected. Inside the book, Mitchell found a hollowed out hole with an engagement ring inside it. She accepted.

The now Mikaila Mitchell and Bruce Mitchell both graduated from UNC in 2017. They now have a little girl named Alice, and they still acknowledge UNC as a place where their relationship changed.

“I would say our relationship really strengthened while being at UNC," said Mikaila. "It wasn’t a new blossoming relationship, but we really strengthened our relationship and came to ourselves as a couple.” 

Alexandra Smith and Christian Lutz share a very different, but equally loving story. They met on campus through a mutual friend who invited Smith to come watch "The Office" in Koury Residence Hall.

“We really started hanging out after he challenged me to a foosball game and kept insisting that he would win repeatedly when, in fact, I was the one who kept winning repeatedly," said Smith. "So we ended up spending a lot more time together after that.” 

Dating a close friend can be uncommon, but Smith and Lutz found a way to make it stick.

“It ended up working out really well for us because now I’m dating my best friend and that’s like the best thing in the world,” said Smith. 

Savannah Lord and Gabe Stocker met in high school in Spanish class. Stocker and Lord started dating in June, before Stocker's first year at UNC. Lord is a year younger, so they had to wait a year before Lord got accepted the following fall semester.

“It was really tough, but I feel like that’s kind of what differentiates us from everybody else on campus, at least most people,” said Stocker.

They wrote letters to each other when they were apart to feel closer together. Now that they are reunited, they spend a lot of quality time with Lord’s new miniature Australian shepherd puppy.

For Kathryn Thacker and Shep Zoutewelle, the University is more than just where they met. It is the backdrop of their relationship. 

“It’s really campus-centered, which is really weird, so he asked me on my first date when we were in Rams," Thacker said. “And then we had our first kiss outside of my room in Craige, so there you have it, and then we said 'I love you' for the first time in the seventh floor of Davis late at night when we were studying.” 

The pair is about to graduate and start their lives together outside of campus. Their relationship has turned out to be a “good surprise” that neither of them expected to happen but can’t wait for what the future holds.

“Kat is my best friend," Zoutewelle said. "That is true, so seeing her roll with my friends and just be the person I’m like planning my next year around and that ... is really special.” 

Sam Zielinski and Conor Fitzpatrick met in high school but have continued their relationship as now sophomores at UNC. They started their Valentine's Day plans early by going to the Morehead Planetarium. 

Even still, they are enjoying the holiday festivities. The couple are still stressing because of the upcoming midterms and will continue their couple tradition of Fitzpatrick buying her Cheerwine and Starburst.

arts@dailytarheel.com