Augie Sweethearts: Shelby Reese and Tommy Enke, Class of 2015

Submitted by Shelby Reese of Omaha, Neb.

Shelby and Tommy met in their freshman orientation group at Augustana College in August 2011. Despite the early introductions, they initially went their own ways and made their own friends. One October night, the two of them happened to cross paths at a party, made small talk, and hung-out most of the evening. That may have been the end of their friendship, but fortunately Shelby’s clumsiness (a trait strongly disputed by Shelby) came in handy.

Several weeks after that October night, Shelby was walking down the notorious stairs of Augustana on her way to the College Center for dinner. As she glanced down the stairs, she saw Tommy and his friends just reaching the bottom of the staircase. In a nervous panic, Shelby began texting her roommate, lost her balance, and stumbled down a few stairs. The commotion caught the attention of Tommy and his friends, who looked up the stairs to find Shelby picking herself up only to stumble a second time. Although embarrassing at the time, Tommy used this as an excuse to text Shelby, which led to long nights of texting, countless dates, a long move to Omaha, and a winter proposal. Shelby and Tommy will be getting married in May of 2019.