It was August of 2015 and the first week of Alyson Hartman’s senior year at Penn State. She found herself at Saloon neglecting her syllabi and hoping for a fun last year while enjoying a Monkey Boy and watching My Hero Zero perform.

While she was dancing, she happened to literally bump into Andrew Huling. When they bumped into each other, Hartman said, “How can you be allowed in here? You don’t look 21.” To which Huling responded, “I’m 27!”

That awkward encounter was the beginning of a now-four-year relationship between the two.

The night went so well that it ended with a kiss in front of the Taco Bell on College Ave., because nothing screams romance quite like that.

However, Huling made up for this a few days later when he took Hartman to Happy Valley Brewing Company for what Hartman calls “the best first date I’d ever been on.”

Fast forward to August 2018 when the pair were attending the Wing Fest at Tussey Mountain with a group of friends.

“We were having an awesome time listening to the live band, eating wings, drinking beer, and just hanging out,” Hartman said. “We were both about to start the final year of our master’s degrees so we were taking this as like the last hoorah of the summer.”

It ended up being so much more than just a “last hoorah.” After they had spent some time at the Wing Fest, Huling insisted that he and Hartman take the chairlift to the top of Tussey Mountain, so he could take some pictures of the Valley at sunset.

However, this left Hartman confused because there was a sign that clearly said no one was to get off the chairlift at the top. Hartman questioned Huling, who persisted he was allowed to get off at the top because he was a snowboard instructor at Tussey Mountain. Somehow, that was enough to convince Hartman to go along for the chairlift ride.

Once they got to the top, they did take some pictures, but what Hartman didn’t know is that they were up there for something else.

“Andrew got down on one knee and started saying things about how much he loved me and wanted to spend forever together,” Hartman said.

She excitedly said yes to her now fiancé. Hartman and Huling are set to become the Hulings at the end of this week on Saturday, September 28.