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.

“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).
Nick Swanson and Julia Ingram
Although Nick Swanson and Julia Ingram met during an informational meeting for FRC Robotics during high school back in 2011,…
Movie magic
The technology used to create Davy Jones from “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and characters from other films…
Genevieve (DuBois) and Greg Sutton
Active in the mining industry and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Genevieve (DuBois) and Greg Sutton first met…
Wharton makes KC Chiefs’ roster
Former Missouri S&T defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton, who earned All-America honors while a Miner, made the 2020 opening day roster…
James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger
James Kreilich and Mary Jane Naeger went to school together at Valle High School in 1960, but it wasn’t until…
Once-in-a-lifetime cab ride
Tamerate Tadesse is a SCADA automation engineer but started his career as an airport taxi driver. “I like to talk…