Seniors gettin’ hitched

Seniors at this time of year are preparing for graduation and their immediate futures. Some are job hunting, some are getting ready to apply for graduate school and some are simply ready to confront the world head-on.

Four Zag seniors will mark their departure from undergraduate life by making lifetime commitments. Two recently engaged senior couples are planning on summer weddings.

Hannah Maricich and James Bogensberger, both 21, became engaged on Saturday, Sept. 10, in Manito Park.

"We met during freshman orientation at one of the games. I met his roommate, and he was sitting behind us and was really loud and obnoxious," Maricich said.

Maricich and Bogensberger both lived in Twohy their freshman year and had mutual friends, which led to their first dates.

"We didn't actually go on a date until we'd been already dating for three months. When you live in the same dorm and have the same mutual friends, you just end up hanging out," Maricich said.

The couple had been discussing marriage for a while. The topic came up toward the end of sophomore year, and they both agreed that if they got through junior year and were still together they would consider it more seriously, Maricich said.

Bogensberger proposed to Maricich several weeks ago after a date at Churchill's Steakhouse. After dinner, he asked her if she'd like to go to Manito Park for a walk. At the park, they sat on a bench and Bogensberger got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

"I don't know what he said actually, I saw the ring and I guessed he was proposing," Maricich said.

Bogensberger is a nursing major in the Army ROTC, so they have a small window of opportunity for a wedding with his schedule. They are planning on having their wedding in summer 2012.

According to Maricich, they decided to get engaged during their senior year because they were both in the right place and had to plan logistically for their future together.

"[There are] organic and logical reasons, and there's emotional reasons. Logically, we're in a place where we can get married afterwards," Maricich said.

Maricich plans on traveling with Bogensberger when he moves for his job in the Army.

Another couple in the senior class, Mary Rose, 21, and Joe Sackmann, 22, are also planning a summer wedding. Rose and Sackmann got engaged almost a year ago — on Oct. 3, 2010 — at the grotto by St. Al's.

Rose's first memory of Sackmann was during high school, when she noticed his red and green mohawk. They met each other several years later at Gonzaga during a freshman retreat.

"We met officially through a mutual friend, but we've known of each other for close to eight years. We went to different high schools but we played golf against each other," Rose said.

After the freshman retreat, they hung out for a while and began dating a month after they were reacquainted. The grotto had sentimental purpose because they spent a lot of time there getting to know one another.

"We'd been talking about it, so I knew it was coming, or at least I had an idea that it was coming, but I didn't want to get myself all worked up and counting on him to propose," Rose said.

She was still surprised when he popped the question after a long walk around campus. Rose said she could tell Sackmann was nervous because his hands were shaking, but still wasn't anticipating his proposal.

"It was really sweet because he proposed to me, not only with my engagement ring, his grandmother's engagement ring, but he used the same box that his grandfather used," Rose said.

Rose and Sackmann will marry on Aug. 20, 2012, in the student chapel and Rose has already picked out her wedding dress.

They decided to get engaged while students because they both knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. They knew they wouldn't get married while still in school because they agreed to get their degrees first. Sackmann plans on attending law school next fall and Rose hopes to continue working for REI in public relations.