Her husband is living proof that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, says Michelle Fitzgerald (BA 1999).

Exchange program administrator in the International Student Centre, this spring she will celebrate 29 years together with Kevin Macnaughton (BSc 1998), team leader for security in Information Technology Services.

The two met in their first year of study at the University of Windsor, living in adjacent suites in Tecumseh Hall, which provided apartment-style residences on Mill Street west of Huron Church Road.

Macnaughton says what first drew them together was simple: “She likes to cook; I like to eat.”

In fact, Fitzgerald would cook with the door open so the delicious aromas would travel down the hallway.

“Kevin showed up one day and asked me to make a lasagna, but I didn’t have the right pan to make one,” says Fitzgerald. “A week later, he came by and presented me with a pan.”

The two had a few courses together, including an 8:30 a.m. class Macnaughton would prefer to sleep through. “She would literally come into my room and wake me up to walk to class,” he recalls.

They transitioned from friends to couple toward the end of their first year and have pretty much been on campus ever since, considering themselves fortunate to work for the institution where they first found love.

“Both of us have good jobs in fields that we love,” Macnaughton says. “Part of what makes our life so good is that it revolves around the University. We can see the results of our work in the students and graduates.”

Fitzgerald interjects: “What more can you ask for than a purposeful life?”

She offers this advice for those exploring new relationships on St. Valentine’s Day: “You need to be open to trying new things. Sometimes your new thing can become your partner’s new thing, but their new thing doesn’t have to be your new thing every time.”