Love was in the air in Varner Hall in the fall of 2000. On the first day of class, Stefen Welch, CAS ’05, met the girl of his dreams in Music 100. Stefen waited for Professor Phyllis White to begin class when Kaniqua Daniel, CAS ’04, came running into his life and into class twelve minutes late.
“As the one hour and 27 minute class went by, I had no idea what Professor White spoke about. I had spent the entire class glancing at Kaniqua and trying to catch her eye,” said Welch.
Afterwards, Stefen walked across campus to South Foundation Hall to his next class only to find Kaniqua. “I paused for a second and began to ponder that it had to be destiny,” recalls Welch. “So I gathered myself together and tried to remember some smooth Billy D. Williams or Richard Gere movie lines that I knew. At the time, my debonair abilities began to fail me and so I asked, ‘Are you following me?’ Kaniqua smiled and rebutted with, ‘No are you following me?”’
As the clock struck midnight New Year’s Day 2011, Stefen got down on one knee and proposed to Kaniqua in Paris, France. Stefen and Kaniqua’s Golden Grizzly love story brought them back to campus for their wedding day on June 9, 2012 with a ceremony at Meadow Brook Hall and reception at the Oakland Center.
Kaniqua is currently attending Wayne State University for a master’s degree in public relations and serves as program supervisor of media and new media with Detroit Public Schools. Stefen earned his master’s degree in community development from the University of Detroit Mercy and works as the director of community development for Vanguard Community Development Corporation revitalizing communities and neighborhoods in Detroit.
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