Allison Leigh Houbein
Allison is the kindest person I’ve ever known. She finds a way to brighten the day of any human or animal in her path with her quietly profound wit and silly spirit. She played rugby in college and has a soft spot for baby elephants. Allison grew up in Merced, California, (“The Gateway to Yosemite”), where many of her equally wonderful family members still reside. We met at The George Washington University where she studied Psychology and worked and volunteered for a handful of social non-profit organizations (the names of which would honestly kind of bum you out).
We moved to New York City together after graduating, where Alli began working in account management for HRI, an Employee Assistance company that provides counseling and health & wellness services to employer groups. She still works there today. Unless it’s a weekend. Then she will work there again on Monday.
Before meeting Allison I was always a night owl, but her early morning eagerness inspired me over time. I proposed to her on July 27th, 2013 on our roof at sunrise. It took almost a full hour to convince her to come with me to the roof that early in the morning.
On March 24th, 2014, we drove from New York to Los Angeles together in our new car, and have since decided to stay here! Through the many changes we’ve experienced together, having Allison as a companion has felt like every step is a celebration. Without all the prep, cleanup, and exhaustion. Just picture a lot of confetti.
Darren Drew Miller
I met Darren at the beginning of Sophomore year of college at a birthday party at his townhouse (the “Comedy House”) where he lived with members of his college comedy group, ReceSs. My first thought was, wow! GW gave three comedians a townhouse? I should have applied for a townhouse. But I soon saw how passionate Darren and his friends (now our friends) are about writing and performing. I am continually awed and inspired by what he can create.
As I got to know Darren more, I discovered we had a lot of little things in common: our mutual love for the arts, sports, comedy, and sandwiches (we named our cat Sandwiches; we promise we won’t name our kids after delicious foods). Most importantly, I saw that Darren loves and appreciates his friends and family as much as I appreciate mine. He has a top notch group of family and friends. So I decided to make them my family and friends too.
A few other things you may not know about Darren:
- He is an extremely fast sprinter and is great at almost every sport and outdoor activity (e.g. Noochfest 2011 AND 2013 Bocce Ball Co-champion). I was not asked to be his bocce partner.
- He refuses to give up on any task, big or small. I think this is an excellent quality unless you find yourself in a situation where you are trying to dig your Prius out of 4 feet of ice and snow.
- Darren is a skilled website designer. He created this site!
Darren has a passion for life and a calling to make people laugh and be happy. He is an amazing family member and friend, and is one of the most trustworthy people I have ever met. He even convinced me to go up on our roof (we had never been on the roof and weren’t allowed up there) at 5 a.m. by saying, “Do you trust me?” I think I said something to the effect of, “Ugh, yes. I suppose so.” But I am happy I did. Because I got this cool fiancé out of it!