As in love as ever

By MARISA MATA, Student Writer

“He was smart and he was good with kids, he had everything on the list — that list all girls have. He didn’t complete me, but he complimented me — we make each other better — and I think that’s really important, so that’s how I knew [he was the one],” Theresa Blanchard (2005) said of husband, Nick Blanchard (2005).

Nick and Theresa were married in 2010, and since then have had two children. The majority of their time revolves around their family and work — Nick is a biology professor and Theresa is a district instructional specialist with Sanger Unified School District — but they make sure to spend quality time together, whether playing basketball or tennis, having a nice dinner or just having time alone to talk.

Both born on July 29 in Modesto, California, it would seem as though fate had something special in store for Nick Blanchard and Theresa (Brawley), but shortly after he turned three, Nick and his family moved to Fresno. Though they frequently visited Modesto, he and Theresa never crossed paths until they became a part of the Smittcamp Family Honors College.
 
“We’ve talked about this — how we grew up going to the same restaurants and carnivals, and how it’s weird we never met each other, or maybe we did and just don’t know it — we had to have been at the same place at the same time at some point over the years,” Theresa said.
 
Nick and Theresa fell into the same group of friends and developed feelings for each other, but because others in the group also had feelings for Nick and Theresa, their feelings were kept secret. However, they used their status as “twins” to keep a special bond throughout college. Their senior year, Nick and Theresa became more forward with their feelings.
 
“For our Secret Santa party that winter, I gave Theresa a hand-developed photograph of the Twinings Laboratory in downtown Fresno — using a play-on-words to suggest our connection as ‘twins’ and adding in my geeky love of science. By that spring, our group outings were starting to give way to more time alone. One night in May, we invited a few friends to see the Aquarid meteor shower — again, we’re geeks. No one was able to join us, so we went by ourselves,” Nick said.
 
That night, Nick and Theresa sat outside — watching shooting stars fall every minute. They spent the night talking, learning more about each other and, by the end of their time together, decided to date more formally.

With graduation nearing, Nick and Theresa realized how separate their futures were beginning to look. Not wanting to lose their relationship, Nick changed his plans of going to Humboldt State for his Master’s, instead staying at Fresno State.

“It was that summer that Theresa told me she loved me. Well, she did not want to scare me by being so forward, so she had me guess what was on her mind. Fortunately, I felt the same, so the guessing was easy,” Nick said.

After dating for almost two years, 710 miles separated the couple — Nick moved to Oregon to pursue a PhD while Theresa stayed in Sanger to teach. They decided the distance was manageable; they talked on the phone every night and visited each other as often as possible.

“Upon request, I told her our past and future stories to send her off to sleep every night. She helped me review Russian and German for my language exams. We exchanged handmade cards whenever we were apart on a special day. Theresa also peppered my suitcase, backpack and books with love notes every time I came home to see her. Sometimes, I would find notes tucked inside my jacket weeks after I had left Fresno.”

With his time in Oregon coming to an end, Nick began to imagine ways of telling Theresa that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Two days before Theresa was supposed to go to the east coast for a teacher’s workshop, she got a call from Nick — he had locked his keys in his truck and needed her help. When Theresa got to the truck, Nick was nowhere in sight, but there was a note on the windshield instructing her to go to a balcony where they had one of their first dates.

“I knew something was going on,” Theresa Blanchard said.

On the balcony, she found a note guiding her to the house where she stayed during their first summer together. The note awaiting her there read “I love you” in Russian — Nick hoping she remembered their lessons on the phone. This note led her to Popolo’s, their favorite pizza place, where she asked for the “Theresa special,” and was then given another note, this time leading to the Twinings Laboratory.

When they met at the laboratory, they smiled nervously at each other. Nick took Theresa by the hand and led her to the shade. He looked at her and said, “I know you’ve been running all over town, and I won’t have you wait any longer,” he showed the ring and asked, “Resa, will you marry me?

And though it may sound cheesy, they remain, today, as in love as ever. ❤