A Bulldog Love Story

Ashley Gowder (BS ’07, AB ’07, JD ’10) never imagined she would meet the love of her life at a UGA Alumni Association event, but that’s exactly what happened at a Bulldogs After Business Hours networking event last year.

Now engaged, Ashley and her fiancée, Jeff Mitchell (BBA ’06), are thankful for the Alumni Association event that brought them together, but they’re amazed it didn’t happen sooner.

Both were in Greek life; Jeff was a Beta Theta Pi and Ashley a Delta Zeta. They lived in their respective Greek houses at the same time – almost directly across the street from one another. The two share a number of mutual friends and attended the same tailgates and parties over the years, yet never bumped into each other.

That is until October 24, 2013, the date which the couple now mark as their anniversary, when they arrived (separately) to Kaleidoscope in Brookhaven to enjoy food and drinks with fellow Bulldogs in the Metro Atlanta Chapter of the UGA Alumni Association.

“Alumni events are always a great opportunity to run into people that you have not seen in a while and catch up on our post-college lives, which can often lead to renewed friendships and business opportunities,” Jeff says. “In my case, I was able to meet someone new that became the love of my life.”

Ashley echoes his sentiments, “Alumni events are like having a small piece of Athens in a bigger city! You never know what kind of connections you will make at the events. I certainly did not expect to meet my future husband.”

While the couple isn’t yet sure what UGA traditions they’ll include on their special day, one thing is for certain – the date will not be on a Saturday during football season.

Congratulations on your engagement, Jeff and Ashley!

To get involved with your local alumni chapter, click here.