{"id":124425,"date":"2022-06-08T12:02:32","date_gmt":"2022-06-08T16:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/?p=124425"},"modified":"2022-06-08T12:02:32","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T16:02:32","slug":"a-diploma-and-a-surprise-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/2022\/06\/08\/a-diploma-and-a-surprise-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"A Diploma \u2013 and a Surprise Proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The moment when Kathy Fevrius said \u201cYes,\u201d in front of a cheering crowd of graduates, capped months of planning to pull off a surprise proposal during the June 2 Convocation ceremony for the College of Education and Human Services (CEHS).<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Video: A Diploma - and a Proposal\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wFXEAb17-KY?feature=oembed\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen style=\"width: 500px; height: 281px; border: 0px solid #000;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year, we\u2019d like to do something different, where we acknowledge a CEHS student in a special way,\u201d said Assistant Dean Carolina E. Gonzalez, inviting Fevrius to the stage for recognition of her student experience at Montclair State University, \u201cone that embodies the identity of our college.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Behind the scenes, Gonzalez was in on a surprise that soon would be viewed live at Sprague Field and afterwards by thousands on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/CeUXBwaDnOf\/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet\">social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Just minutes earlier, Hendy Joseph had hurried from the bleachers, secretly entering the field, and was waiting backstage with a large bouquet of flowers. On cue \u2013 Gonzalez inviting to the podium \u201ca special someone\u201d to present Fevrius with the honor \u2013 Joseph would in fact ask Fevrius for the honor of her hand in marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKathy, no words can express my love for you,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cI love you.\u201d And then, on bended knee, \u201cWill you marry me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fevrius, her hands covering her smiling face in surprise, said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/06\/2022-06-03_cehs-proposal-02.jpg.3.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/06\/2022-06-03_cehs-proposal-02.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A proposal, a yes and a hug.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fevrius is a January 2022 graduate who earned a BS in Public Health with a concentration in Health Systems Administration and Policy. Her professors and those who worked with her at her internship at the East Orange Health Department describe her as a thoughtful, wise and passionate woman who will make outstanding contributions as a public health professional. She currently works at the Bergen Arts and Science Charter Middle School in Garfield, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p>The couple met at the Tabernacle Church Of God in Newark, and for Joseph, from the moment he first saw Fevrius, \u201cI knew that one day she would be my wife,\u201d he says in a letter about their courtship. It took a year before he found the courage to let her know how he felt and some time before \u201cKathy agreed to speak to me or even show any interest of some sort, but after seeking the Lord\u2019s approval on her end and me being persistent on my end, Kathy agreed to give me a chance and allow me in her life.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/06\/2022-06-03_cehs-proposal-03.jpg.3.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/06\/2022-06-03_cehs-proposal-03.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u00a0Kathy Fevrius believed she was receiving a special honor and was surprised \u2013 and delighted \u2013 by the ring and proposal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The story of their engagement has caught the attention of media outlets, including\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nj.com\/education\/2022\/06\/watch-nj-college-students-sweet-surprise-proposal-at-college-ceremony.html\"><em>The Star-Ledger<\/em>\/nj.com<\/a>, which reported that Fevrius was thrilled \u2013 and surprised \u2013 by the gesture.<\/p>\n<p>According to the newspaper, Joseph seemed unusually busy and distracted Thursday morning but she didn\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was like, \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019 He said, \u2018I don\u2019t want to tell you now. I\u2019ll tell you later,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She also said there was no doubt of her answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s so caring. Oh my goodness,\u201d she said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t want me to suffer anytime. I love him.\u201d Joseph says they plan a church engagement later this month and a wedding in August 2023.<\/p>\n<p>In his letter, the groom-to-be expresses his love. \u201cShe is literally a gift sent from Heaven \u2026 Kathy is the definition of a soulmate, pure love and affection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As they parted the Convocation stage, Fevrius returned to her seat where she would shortly receive her diploma alongside 350 other CEHS graduates, Joseph to the family waiting on the stadium sidelines. Gonzalez wished them \u201ca lifetime of happiness and love.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/06\/2022-06-03_cehs-proposal-04.jpg.3.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Fevrius at her seat after the proposal, laughing.\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2022\/06\/2022-06-03_cehs-proposal-04.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u00a0 After the proposal, Kathy Fevrius returns to her place on the Convocation field.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Story by Staff Writer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=lehrenma\">Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>. Photos by University Photographer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=petersm\">Mike Peters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The story behind the sweet \u2018Will you marry me?\u2019 moment for a Montclair State University Public Health grad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":124426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-23_college-news-and-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/ceel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}