Friends First

Friends First

It seems that a lot of our Nicholas School students who became couples met during orientation. Liz Wexler met John Sullivan on the library tour during orientation, and then they ran into each other again on the bus for the tour of Duke Forest. While they were chatting on the bus, they quickly realized that they lived almost across the street from other in Durham.

A couple looks at each other happily.
Young and in love.
A man wraps his arms around a woman and they smile at the camera
John and Liz during their Duke days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A family of four poses for a picture on a picnic blanket
John and Liz with their children.

Over their first year at the Nicholas School, Liz and John ran into each other a lot. Liz was pursuing an MEM in Coastal Environmental Management, and John was pursuing an MEM in Ecosystems Science and Management. They had the same circle of friends, and they spent a lot of time together and became friends themselves. But it wasn’t until a couple of weeks before Liz had to go to Beaufort that they started dating. They spent their second year alternating weekends in Durham or Beaufort as much as possible to make the most of their time together before they graduated in 2006.

Three years after graduating, they were married and Liz Wexler became Liz Sullivan. They spent a little time working in Maryland, and then they moved to Massachussetts. They both work for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gloucester now, and they have two children and a dog.