In 2018, Ishmeet Kaur was new to Cape Breton. She came to Canada from India to study at CBU and wanted to have more than just an educational experience. She wanted to meet new friends, make relationships and have a comfortable life here. She joined Enactus at CBU and was excited to learn more.

Enactus aims to harness the “power of conscious capitalism for positive change and is committed to shaping the world with an optimistic, yet competitive spirit.” Ishmeet knew that she had found the perfect group to match her passion for impacting the world around her with a place to meet new friends. One of those friends was Chandan Choudhary, who was in his final year at CBU. He was precisely the type of energetic, fun-loving and friendly person she hoped to connect with here in Canada.

Their friendship blossomed into a relationship, and as she pursued her degree, they became closer every day. Ishmeet was in love and so was Chandan. Little did they know, they grew up one hour apart at home in India but only found one another here in Cape Breton. These soulmates met in an unexpected place at an unexpected time.

On May 20th, 2022, exactly three years after the couple met, Ishmeet crossed the stage and graduated with a Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management degree. A lifelong dream to earn a degree at a respected university came true. She was on cloud nine and thought her day could not get any better.

At a social event in the CBU cafeteria, while music was playing and new alumni were celebrating their shared success, Chandan asked the band if he could use the microphone. “I really want to do this right now,” he said, looking at Ishmeet only and ignoring the crowd of more than 250 in the cafeteria beyond her. “I’m just nervous, but I want to do this….”

As he took a knee and opened a box, the crowd screamed in delight, and Ishmeet’s hands covered her mouth in awe and pure joy. He asked her to marry him, and she said ‘yes’ and before he could finish the question, they embraced with waves of applause filling the University.

Three years to the day, after Ishmeet and Chandan met, they were engaged to be married as a CBU Alumni Couple on the campus which brought them together. “CBU has played an enormous role in our relationship,” Chandan says. “We knew that this was the place we met, so I knew this is where our next chapter had to begin.”

The two, now both proud CBU Alumni, will plan their wedding and will fondly remember that their love blossomed in Cape Breton.