WO students Maggie O’Brien and Maddy Eppard attempt to match the perfect couple at WO.

How we made the matches:

On Thursday afternoon, we sent out a survey. Questions ranged from “Do you like cupcakes or muffins?” to “What are your interests?”  We asked teachers and students to spread the word. Just 24 hours later, over 45 students sent in their responses. We had one goal: to match up the perfect pair and send them on a blind date.

Why we matched this couple:

As we scanned the results, we knew immediately that these two were a match. They had lots of similar interests, including a love for music and similar music taste. One of the most important factors in our choice to pair these two up was their response to “What are you looking for in a relationship?” Both said they were looking for loyalty and someone to have fun with. It was obvious through this response that they had a chance of working out.

The plan:

The brave two we chose to send on a date were Soph. Megan Johnson and Jr. Jordan Meade. After lots of communication through email, we set a time of 3:00 on Sunday, March 19 at 205 Coffee Bar. We decided to only require them to be there for half an hour in case either of them were uncomfortable, and we planned to be there the whole time to make sure everything went smoothly. We also wanted to make name cards to hand them that would have the name of their date, along with their interests so they could get to know each other and have some easy conversation starters.

The day of:

The day of the date finally arrived. We both became increasingly anxious about sending the couple on the real date. It was so fun making the matches, setting it up, and making it happen, but then we started to realize that we were dealing with real feelings and emotions. If something went wrong, we caused it. If someone ended up with hurt feelings, we were to blame.

In the hours before, we might have been even more nervous than the girls going on the date.To make it worse, 30 minutes before the date we found out the location we sent them to was closed. We made a quick location change to Lemonjello’s, and luckily it worked out well.  

The date:

When we arrived at Lemonjello’s, Meade was already waiting, and Johnson arrived shortly after. As we approached them, our nerves were building. What if they already knew each other? Or even worse, what if they already knew each other and they hated one another?

We introduced them, and to our relief, they had never met. We handed them their name cards, explained the process, and left them to enjoy their date.

Now, we weren’t quite sure what to do. We planned to stay for the date, but we didn’t know how to do that without making it look like we were watching them. We chose a table as far from them as possible, but where they were still in our view. We sat down, and waited for the action to unfold.

  At first, it was noticeable that the atmosphere was slightly awkward. They were sitting straight up in their chairs as if they were afraid to move, and their body language looked slightly uncomfortable. “One thing I was nervous about going on the date was not knowing who the other person was,” Meade admitted. Our minds raced with worry, but this quickly faded away as the date progressed.

  As the girls continued to talk, they were smiling more, and even laughing. “We both really made an effort to get to know each other and keep the conversation going,” Johnson said. At the end of the day, both girls were happy with their blind date experience. “The date went better than I had hoped,” Meade said. “Overall, everything went well so there wasn’t really a need to be nervous,” Johnson added.

The result:

As the experience drew to a close, Meade and Johnson left Lemonjello’s with a smile. “She was really sweet,” Johnson said. “My favorite part was really just meeting a new person who had similar interests as me. We both enjoyed a lot of the same things and had a good amount in common.” Meade also enjoyed the blind date. “I think this was a good match for me because we really get along and she’s super nice and pretty,” she said.

Moving forward, their future looks promising. “We’ve been talking since then and have talked about hanging out again soon,” Johnson said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a date or just as a friend, whatever works for her,” Meade said.

Recently, the two made plans to watch the sunset. Whether they end up together or end up as friends, the date was definitely a success.