Our Story
We met on the first day of school
Sreemoyee and Aaren met during their engineering seminar on their first day of classes at the University of Virginia. Aaren introduced himself when he heard Sreemoyee mention to a friend that her family had moved to his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We were good friends for 2 years
Group design projects ensured that Sreemoyee and Aaren spent a lot of time together. They started carpooling home to Pittsburgh during college breaks, trying to bridge the gap between their divergent tastes in music. Their friendship was fun and easy-going for the first two years of college.
In the fall semester of their third-year, feeling something had changed, Sreemoyee asked Aaren on a first date. They had a truly terrible-tasting dinner, but it was still the best date they had both ever had, and the conversation never stopped.
For their first Christmas, Aaren impressed Sreemoyee with his photo editing skills, pouring creativity and humor into a collage of fake travel photos representing places they aspired to someday visit together.
We graduated and moved to New York City
Sreemoyee and Aaren prepped for interviews together in their fourth year and were stunned to receive offers to join McKinsey and ATKearney on the same day! After graduation they helped each other pack up, search for apartments, and make the move to the “city that never sleeps.”
Despite constantly traveling for work, Sreemoyee and Aaren spent almost all their free time together when in New York. They loved spending Saturdays at the Met, exploring the Central Park brambles, taking in an occasional show (John Mulaney at Radio City was a highlight), and hunting for the best food in town.
We got engaged in Central Park
Before departing on their first trip to India, Aaren and Sreemoyee spent the day enjoying all their favorite New York spots, ending with a picnic in the Elm Grove of Central Park. When a local musician started playing the acoustic guitar nearby, Aaren surprised Sreemoyee with the question that had been on both of their minds for a while. Overwhelmed by the moment, Aaren forgot to get down on one knee, but Sreemoyee said “Yes” none-the-less!
We moved to Pittsburgh
Sreemoyee and Aaren moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to family. During the pandemic, they loved being able to spend so much time with their parents and siblings. Aaren and his brother Cameron shared their love of bicycling with Sreemoyee, and the trio now enjoy exploring the riverfront trails. Sreeroopa chose to relocate to Pittsburgh and gifted them the joy of spending time with puppy nieces and nephews; Cameron subsequently added another fur baby to the four-legged family. From overloaded tables at Thanksgiving to celebrating family birthdays, graduations, and other milestones, the Soms and Barges have enjoyed coming together over good food, board games, and spirited conversation.
Now that Sreemoyee has finished up her Masters in Healthcare Analytics from Carnegie Mellon University, Aaren and Sreemoyee are headed to Chicago where Aaren will pursue his MBA at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
