Penn 1993 Love Connections – Part 5

Back in February, we asked classmates that are “Penn couples” to share their stories of how they met, their Penn connection and photos. We featured four installments of Penn 1993 Love Connections, and we still have stories to share!

Enjoy Penn 1993 Love Connections Part 5!

Included in this post:

• Minal Damani Kundra, W’93, and Monish Kundra, W’95, ENG’95
• Dominic Napolitano, Eng’93, WG’00, and Maria Fokina Napolitano, GSAS’00
• Brian Eck, Eng’93, and Katy McCabe, C’94
• Sukanya Srinivasan, Eng’93, and Henry Willis, C’93
• Jean-Pierre Mobasser, C’93, and Erica Mobasser, C’93
• Lisa Noguchi, C’93, NU’95, GNU’97, and Matthew Reeves, C’93

Minal Damani Kundra, W’93, and Monish Kundra, W’95, ENG’95

I met Monish Kundra at a party for a mutual friend in early 2006, over a decade after we had both graduated from Penn in different classes.  The party was one of those occasions where I knew everyone who was going to be there and recall asking myself as I finished getting ready, “What’s the point?!”   I saw Monish across the room, seemingly single, and decided to use that moment to congratulate the guest of honor who was chatting with Monish at the time. Our friend introduced us and suggested I probably knew Monish’s brother Raj Kundra (W’93), which was true as I knew Raj as well as all his college roommates.  After establishing several fun connections, Monish and I closed down a restaurant on our first date a few weeks later, and our lives went into overdrive after that…moving in together, buying our first house, planning our destination wedding on Fisher Island in Miami, getting engaged, and tying the knot in March 2008…roughly in that order!  We welcomed our son Sachin six days before our one-year anniversary and our daughter Karina came along in 2011.  We will celebrate our 10-year anniversary this year along with countless adventures, lots of laughs, cherished moments, and rewarding lives together in Washington, DC.

Minal Damani Kundra, W’93, and Monish Kundra, W’95, ENG ’95

Minal Damani Kundra, W’93, and Monish Kundra, W’95, ENG ’95 with their children

Dominic Napolitano, Eng’93, WG’00, and Maria Fokina Napolitano, GSAS’00

Maria and I met on an otherwise empty Metro car during the early-morning commute into Washington D.C.  She was applying to graduate school, and I hinted that she might want to consider Penn.  It took some convincing, but eventually I won her over to the Red and Blue.  Two years later, we married in Philadelphia, and I joined her back at Penn, for my own graduate work. Our daughter, Natalie, was born at University Hospital shortly before we graduated; given our frequent moves, she always thought of Philadelphia as home.  Now, eighteen years later, our little girl is going back to Penn as a freshman, in the fall. We hope to give her younger brothers (Anton – 15, Alex – 6, and Max – 3) the hint too. We live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Dominic Napolitano, EEng ’93, WG’00, and Maria Napolitano, GSAS ’00, with their daughter Natalie who is going to enter Penn as a freshman this fall

Dominic Napolitano, EEng ’93, WG’00, and Maria Napolitano, GSAS ’00, with their children

Brian Eck, Eng’93, and Katy McCabe, C’94, met through the Progressive Student Alliance at Penn.

Sukanya Srinivasan, Eng’93, and Henry Willis, C’93

Sukanya Srinivasan, Eng’93, and Henry Willis, C’93, met as freshmen in Hill House in the fall of 1989, when he asked her if she was one of the Graduate Fellows for the floor! Many conversations and pieces of leftover cake from LeBus catering later, they began working together on environmental issues with the Penn Environment Group with the highlights being organizing Earth Day celebrations and finally getting the recycling bins put in along Locust Walk.  Yeah!  Things got cemented by senior  year when they took a summer camping trip across the country, hitting 10 national parks in 28 days and realizing they could survive  each other’s cooking and enjoy a lot together! The next few years were long distance but then they both ended up (after much strategizing) in Pittsburgh, PA by the fall of 1998, when Sukanya started family medicine residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Henry started a PhD at Carnegie Mellon shortly thereafter.  They finally got married in 1999 with many PENN friends in attendance and have been here in ‘da Burgh since with their two kids, Neel and Anisha.  Still cooking together after all these years!

Sukanya Srinivasan, Eng’93, and Henry Willis, C’93

Jean-Pierre Mobasser, C’93, and Erica Mobasser, C’93

We cannot recall for sure if we met for the first time at a dreadful off campus performance of Waiting for Godot, or at a Beta Theta Pi party, but it was at the end of sophomore year, and probably with a little help from my roommates and his fraternity brothers.

Our first official date was at the White Dog Cafe followed by drinks at the Palladium. Our second date was at Magnolia Cafe in downtown Philadelphia followed by Borgia cafe on South Street. Sadly most of these establishments no longer exist!!

We were married in 1997. We have lived in Augusta Ga, Memphis Tn, and now Indianapolis for the past 14 years. We have three children ages 19, 17, and 15.

Erica Mobasser, C’93, and Jean-Pierre Mobasser, C’93, at Penn’s graduation in 1993

Lisa Noguchi, C’93, NU’95, GNU’97, and Matthew Reeves, C’93

Lisa Noguchi, C’93, and Matthew Reeves, C’93

 

Love these Penn Love stories?

• Read Part 1! 
• Read Part 2! 
• Read Part 3!
• Read Part 4!

Penn Class of 1993 25th Reunion Countdown

Join us we count down the weeks to our reunion #93tothe25th. Meet us at the Button!

Register NOW to attend our 25th Reunion!

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• Book your hotel room or AirBnB now! See our class website for details.
• Tag all of your social media posts #penn1993 and #pennalumni or #lovepenn!
• Watch our Button challenge video!