Viking Valentines Reagan and Liam Jones first met during their very first week of classes at Salem State University. It was on September 2, 2015, at the “stuff-a-plush” stuffed animal event for new students, that the couple first met.
“We've been inseparable ever since,” Reagan tells Salem State.
During their first year on campus, Reagan and Liam's relationship blossomed as they spent more time together and lived on campus: her in Peabody Hall, him in Marsh. Reagan came to Salem State from Indio, California, and Liam from Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
One of their favorite memories at Salem State took place that first year when Reagan and Liam visited the Collins Observatory on campus. They each remember sitting together at the observatory, on top of Meier Hall, gazing up at the stars.
Perhaps one of the most special moments that occurred during their Viking journeys happened on Christmas Day in 2018 when Liam proposed to Reagan and the two became engaged. The pair married two years later on November 8, 2020 at DiBurro’s of Haverhill. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the couple to cancel their chapel ceremony and cut their guest list from 100 people to 25, “but it was still a perfect and beautiful day,” Reagan says, adding that her mask even matched her wedding gown.
The couple have another favorite memory from their time at Salem State: when they walked across the stage in the O’Keefe Complex and graduated together in May of 2019.
Reagan earned her BS in psychology, and Liam earned his BA in history. Two years later, the couple celebrated again when Liam – after navigating remote learning throughout the pandemic – earned his MA in history from Salem State. Reagan is currently pursuing her master's in social work at Salem State and is on track to graduate in 2023.
Reagan and Liam both describe their academic experiences at Salem State as positive and meaningful.
“The history department is the best I could have hoped to work with,” Liam says.
Reagan says she has always felt really lucky in her education, adding: “Salem State gave me an extremely well-rounded course of study.”
These double Vikings are both working in their respective fields of study: Reagan as a mental health counselor for the Lahey Crisis Team and Liam as both a curatorial assistant at the Danvers Historical Society and a museum educator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
The Jones live in Boston with their one senior cat,15-year-old Odessa, “the queen of the house,” Reagan says.
Congratulations to these two Viking Valentines!