Erin Hayden and Matthew Garger

Although Erin Hayden and Matthew Garger were both students at S&T for an overlapping year, they didn’t meet until the Spring Career Fair in 2012.

Erin Hayden and Matthew Garger
Erin Hayden and Matthew Garger

“I was recruiting entry-level automation engineers for the firm I worked at,” she says. “I had no idea I was also recruiting a husband!”

Erin earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2008 and currently works at Mars Wrigley. Matthew earned bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering in 2012 and currently works at EN Engineering. The couple married in July 2017.

Their relationship advice?

“Don’t focus on being so close to family right after graduation,” she says. “Be flexible in location because so many amazing opportunities are out there. Also, if you can marry an engineer, do it. Our dinner conversations together are some of my favorites. No one quite understands the daily struggles you go through like someone who does the same thing as you.”

Share This Story

Spark a Memory?

Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).

Setting new trends

Setting new trends

Tamiko Youngblood, MinE’92, MS EMgt’94, PhD EMgt’97, was a woman of many “firsts.” She was the first African American woman…

Ruth (Farrar) and Richard Kinsey

Ruth (Farrar) and Richard Kinsey

Ruth (Farrar) met Richard Kinsey on the steps of his fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta in 2011. Ruth grew up in…

Four months away from Earth

Four months away from Earth

Sandra “Sandy” Magnus has been part of three space flights and spent more than four months in space during her…

Sudha Sneha Devarakonda and Karthik Kumar

Sudha Sneha Devarakonda and Karthik Kumar

After Sudha Sneha Devarakonda and Karthik Kumar met through a mutual friend, they kept running into each other on the…

Savannah (Signaigo) and Nathan Leezer

Savannah (Signaigo) and Nathan Leezer

Savannah (Signaigo) and Nathan Leezer met during Greek Week activities in September 2010 when Nathan, a first-year Interfraternity Council representative,…

Martin Jischke on increasing diversity

Martin Jischke on increasing diversity

Martin C. Jischke, who served as chancellor at UMR between 1986 and 1991, describes the importance...