Whether you are looking for love or following it to Davis, there is no shortage of love to be found on campus
By REBEKA ZELJKO — features@theaggie.org
At UC Davis, all Aggies, students and alumni alike, have a shot at love. With no shortage of people and date spots, you are bound to find a special someone to make memories with.
Megan To, a third-year political science major, and her boyfriend, Ehsan Sherdil, are straight out of a modern romance, and their story starts in a very modern way.
“If I could redo the way we met, I would literally choose any other way,” To said. “I hate saying that we met online. It feels like I have to whisper it, but that’s what happened.”
To and her boyfriend met during their second and fourth years at UC Davis, respectively. The UC Davis campus had just reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and people were just getting back into in-person dating, except for maybe To and Sherdil.
“We talked online for, like, 20 minutes, and then he asked me if I wanted to get coffee,” To said. “I was just having fun, but when we went for coffee at Pachamama, we ended up talking for, like, five hours until they closed.”
The two hit it off, and it was the first of many dates in Davis.
“Then we had our second date, and that was really, really fun,” To said. “We went to the Varsity Theatre, and we watched ‘Lamb.’ It was horrifying but also really cute. Afterward, we went to [The Davis Food Co-op] and there was this massive prickly pear tree.”
This unassuming prickly pear tree became central to a sweet memory To shares with her boyfriend.
“He was like, ‘I walk past this prickly pear tree every day. We need to get prickly pears,’” To said. “Those prickly pears weren’t even that good, and pretty much the whole night, our hands were covered in these prickly pear thorns, but I have happy memories from that day.”
Davis holds much significance in To and her boyfriend’s relationship, even after Sherdil graduated in spring 2022.
“All of our first few dates were in Davis,” To said. “His place was really nice because it was on 1st Street, so he was right next to campus. We spent a lot of time downtown because of it. He moved out to San Francisco now, but when he visits, he always tells me we have to get Ali Baba’s and walk in the Arboretum. He’s obsessed with the ducks.”
Davis has been the backdrop for many relationships, old and new. Antonio Delgado, a second-year communications major, followed his high school boyfriend, Max Carvajal, to Davis.
“I had never seen Davis before, so I planned a few trips throughout the year to come and visit my boyfriend and also to see what Davis had to offer,” Delgado said. “On my second trip, I actually flew up to Davis for Valentine’s Day, and we spent the day downtown, which was really memorable. After three years of being together, we have spent every Valentine’s Day together in Davis.”
Delgado shared some of his go-to date spots in Davis.
“We love going downtown and trying different things,” Delgado said. “We’ve gone to Let Them Eat Cake, and we love trying out all their different cupcakes and [macarons]. We also love going to our favorite coffee place, Philz. We used to go to Philz together back home a lot, so it reminds us of a home away from home.”
Others find Davis to be the common thread in their love story. Craig Anderson, a UC Davis alumnus who graduated in 1997 with a degree in atmospheric science, attended school with his now wife, Anna Bereczky-Anderson, who graduated in 1998 with a degree in political science.
Anderson had known Bereczky-Anderson since he was 16 years old. When a mutual friend visited Davis, they reconnected, which sparked the beginning of their love story.
“[Anna and our friend] came over to my dorm area and put a note on the bulletin board,” Anderson said, “and I don’t know what caused me to look at it because I never really paid attention to what was posted on there, but I saw the note. It said that she was in town and that we should get together before she left. So I called her by payphone, and we hung out that afternoon.”
She and Anderson stayed in touch after he went home for summer break.
“We wrote letters to each other the whole summer until the fall, basically getting to know each other and seeing if we wanted to date,” Anderson said. “I obviously really liked her, and so when I came back, we started dating.”
In Davis, Anderson found himself spending a lot of time walking his girlfriend’s beloved dog, Ricky the beagle, who he said is a renowned escape artist.
“We would walk her dog through the Arboretum and around the ponds in West Davis, all through the neighborhoods,” Anderson said. “A lot of times, he got loose, so when he managed to escape, we would just go to the nearest food place, and he was probably nearby.”
Ricky’s escapades were inconvenient but always memorable for the couple.
“It was the night before she and her mother were going to Italy,” Anderson said. “I got a call from them saying that the dog got out, so we were all driving around, trying to find the dog, and someone found him in the bushes next to Carl’s Jr., probably chomping on something.”
Memories like these inspired the couple to remain in Davis after they graduated. They are celebrating their 30th anniversary this fall, with “four crazy kids all over the world.”
Written by: Rebeka Zeljko — features@theaggie.org
