Couple says going to class, doing group work resulted in more than just good grades

Photo-WallaceCook_Valentines

Thinking about cutting class? Does it seem as though sitting through a lecture about the Civil War might not be the most interesting thing to do today?

Bethany Cook had been noticing a young man named Alec Wallace in some of her classes at University of Houston-Clear Lake, but had not spoken much to him until they both found themselves in a class taught by (Professor of History) William Powers. “I kind of had a crush on him, from afar,” she said.

He had been noticing her, too. “I had seen her before in other history classes and thought she was really cute, but finally, in Dr. Powers’ class, I worked up the courage just to ask her for a piece of paper,” he said. “Anything just to find a reason to talk to her!”

Cook said it all clicked after they’d spoken on a group chat assignment. “He asked me for my number and by the end of January 2020, we were ‘official,’” she said. “We started meeting for lunch at the tables outside Student Services and Classroom  Building, and in Atrium I in the Bayou Building. I never met a guy in a class before. Who knew the Civil War could be romantic?”

They had their first date at Beers Looking at You, a bar in Webster, during the height of Covid. “We were together after that,” she said. “I guess I’d say, if you want to meet a guy, go to class and do the group work. You don’t know how it could turn out!”

Wallace said they soon started seeing each other daily. “I said, I am just going to start telling people you’re my girlfriend. She said that was fine,” he said.

“Dr. Powers is funny and Alec would play off him,” Cook said. “I liked his sense of humor. We have joked that we will send Dr. Powers a wedding invitation.”

Wallace said that outside of class, they enjoyed cooking and trying new foods together.

“We like to stay home, so I’m envisioning a romantic night in,” he said. “I’m going to try to surprise her for Valentine’s Day. I’m going to cook a free-range rabbit just because she’s never had it before. I’ve got a nice bottle of wine. And if the rabbit doesn’t work out, I’ve got a Chinese restaurant on speed dial.”