by Morgan Stacy | Staff Writer
With the recent passing of Valentine’s Day, many may be wondering if and when they will find a forever valentine, but most importantly, where, they will find this person. Students at PC are reminded every day by the “Met and Married” wall, located in the Cornelson Center of Neville Hall, that finding love at PC is in fact possible.
Although they do not yet have a plaque on the wall in Neville, PC alumni Chip and Dana Goodman, met at Presbyterian College in 1980 and were married after graduating in 1984.
Dana said that while growing up, her father used to tell her a story about how he knew he was going to marry her mother at first glance.
She stated that she was skeptical about this until the summer of ‘80, when she arrived on PC’s campus for orientation. Chip spent that summer preceding his sophomore year working as an orientation leader.
Dana recalled the first time she saw Chip. “He was sitting in a convertible with a mutual friend. I walked over and looked down at his nametag…it read Chip Goodman. My first thought was that of my Dad’s story, ‘that’s who I’m going to marry,’” Dana said.
When fall of ‘80 rolled around, Dana began to date Chip’s roommate and formed a very close friendship with Chip during this period of time.
When Chip and Dana were just friends, he would call her and have her ask her girlfriends out for him, as he was scared of being rejected. Dana’s relationship with Chip’s roommate was very short lived.
Following their breakup, Chip decided it was time to man up and ask a girl on a date himself, versus having someone do it for him. Chip asked Dana to be his date to PC’s Military Ball.
Having the gut feeling that she would someday marry this man, she accepted the offer and the Ball became their first official date.
As Dana’s freshman year, and Chip’s sophomore year came to an end, they were “head over heels” for one another, and remained in a relationship for the rest of their years at PC. Chip graduated in the Spring of ‘83 and proposed to Dana a few months later.
They waited to get married until Dana graduated also, and in the summer of ‘84, they were married at the First Presbyterian Church located right outside of campus, surrounded by their closest Presbyterian College friends and family.
Chip and Dana Goodman have now been married for thirty-four years. Over the course of these years, they have found their forever home in Hartsville, South Carolina, have three sons and have established successful careers at Sonoco Products Company and Brandis On College.
Chip and Dana’s love story gives hope that in years to come, the “Met and Married” wall will continue to grow. Presbyterian College is a special place where special relationships are formed, and the Goodman’s are only one example of many.