When WSU alumni Alex and Sara Hill met, she declined his offer to walk her home because she didn’t know him, but the next week, she decided to give him a chance. 

The two were both in Greek life, with Sara being at WSU from 2005 to 2008 and Alex being at the school from 2002 to 2006, Sara said. 

Alex initially pursued her the night he asked Sara to walk her home after a Greek event, but she didn’t know him at the time, which is why she declined in the first place, she said. 

Even though their first walk home was their first time hanging out and getting to know each other, Sara said their real first date was Valentine’s Day one year when they went ice skating in Moscow.

As their relationship continued on, they spent more and more time together, as most people do in a new relationship, and eventually had their first kiss on the steps of Wilmer-Davis Hall, Sara said. 

Alex said besides partying, his favorite memory on campus was being on a flag football team at WSU and seeing Sara in the stands of Martin Stadium, watching him play. The two went to multiple Greek functions and formals together. Alex was in ROTC because he was preparing for the Air Force after graduation, and the two went to ROTC dinners as well as their Greek life events. 

But, one of their favorite memories comes from after they both graduated college at the 2012 Apple Cup, and coming home after the win, he said. 

Once they graduated, the couple had to face the challenges of a long-distance relationship, because while Sara was finishing up school, Alex was busy with pilot training for the Air Force, she said. 

“We made the effort to visit each other on holidays or whenever we could. Alex was able to come to home in a couple of times,” Sara said. “We would try to see each other during spring break, those kinds of things. So I’d say we saw each other every few months, but it was you know, mostly phone and email and back then we Skyped.”

Once the two were able to end the long-distance part of their relationship, they moved to New Mexico, where Alex was stationed for the Air Force and where they got engaged, she said. 

But, when they got married in June 2010, they had their wedding in Warden, Wash, which is Sara’s hometown, she said.

They ended up living in New Mexico for seven years before moving to Florida after having their two daughters, Mackenna and Arlee, Sara said. 

The couple has engrained the Coug life into their two daughters, she said. Some of their first words were even ‘Go Cougs.’ The two currently live in Spokane and drive to Pullman for home football games.

“Being a Coug is like ingrained in both of us. It’s really special to us and I don’t think I could be married to a Husky. Like, it would not work out,” Sara said. “It’s a common bond we can always fall back on, we both love the Cougs … It’s just something fun to have together and share with our kids.”