Columbus Day 2016, Simpson Student, Rolf Sollie, arrived at William Jessup University to take blogger, Moriah Joy, on an adventure in celebration of her 19th birthday. Their date started out at Origin Coffee, a local coffee house dedicated to fighting sex trafficking, and ended at Johnson-Springview Park, a community park and home to the WJU Cross-Country team. The couple, currently in a long distance relationship, was ecstatic to spend this time together. Joy even elected to skip her Monday classes.

When Sollie arrived late morning, Joy was wearing jean shorts and a mickey mouse t-shirt. Sollie grabbed her hand and brought her to the car. The couple headed to Origin where they ordered a poppyseed muffin and an Americano for Joy, and a coconut pastry and Earl Gray tea for Sollie.

Breakfast was short-lived, however, as Joy had a doctor’s appointment at 1:00 p.m. After the appointment, they drove back to Jessup and attended her weekly Rosary Prayers. Sollie said that, while he didn’t enjoy the experience, he appreciated seeing into her world, and it left him with food for thought. Joy was a little more positive, “It was truly divine to have him worshipping with me.”

Yvette (Yeti) Perez, Joy’s teammate and a colleague of Sollie’s, made an appearance afterward to catch up with the couple and “finally see them in person.”

Business appointments out of the way, the couple resumed the date-like nature of their day, but this time in a little more style. Sollie grabbed a suit out of his vehicle and then the two changed into evening wear. Joy wore a burgundy spaghetti strap dress embroidered with gold sparkles, and Sollie wore a white dress shirt, gray vest, navy blue tie, and black slacks.

They headed to the park with Jessica Beukelman, a friend of Joy’s who offered to take pictures. For the next hour, Beukelman bossed the couple around the park in order to get the perfect shot. The couple climbed on fences, swings, and trees at her request. Beukelman said the experience was “quite enjoyable.” She “had a very good time,” and “got to meet a cat so that was fun.”

Once the memory card was full, the couple, along with Beukelman, drove back to campus. Beukelman left for class and Sollie escorted Joy to work. Before he left, Sollie kissed Joy’s head and wished her a happy birthday. He then walked to his car and drove the 3 hours back to Simpson University, where he is studying to be a teacher.