After Sudha Sneha Devarakonda and Karthik Kumar met through a mutual friend, they kept running into each other on the way to and from campus, at the gym, the library and even a graduate teaching assistant workshop.
“Eventually we decided to give dating a shot,” she says. “Walking to Einstein Bros. at the Havener Center for breakfast almost became a ritual for us. Being there for each others’ highs and lows – bad finances, house hunts, thesis presentations, first internship, first job, graduation – just helped us bond better.”
In 2010, Kumar earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and Sudha earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering. The pair married in 2012 and have two children.
“We always look back to our days in Rolla with great fondness as they have been the foundation to our relationship,” she says. “We came to establish our careers, but left with many experiences far more priceless, just one of them being our partnership.”
Their relationship advice?
“Working toward a graduate degree can sometimes be very stressful,” she says. “Meeting that special someone can help but sometimes be a distraction as well. It’s all about balancing personal and academic. At the end, the right person can become your pillar of strength through all those trying times.”
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).
Remembering Bataan
Gene Boyt, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering; Robert Silhavy, ceramic engineering; and John McAnerney, civil engineering, were called…
Non-stop innovation
Dan Scott, a 1970 metallurgical engineering graduate, holds more than 100 patents and has dozens more patents pending. The technical…
Supporting female faculty at S&T
When she established the Woman of the Year award at Missouri S&T, Cindy Tang, a 1985 economics graduate, wanted to…
Laying a foundation
The Hasselmann Alumni House wouldn’t exist without the involvement of Matt Coco, a 1966 civil engineering graduate – even the…
George Mueller: ensuring the ‘moonshot’
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,” President John F. Kennedy said…
Alumni leading the telecommunications industry
Roy Wilkens, EE’66, and Mario A. Padilla, MetE’60, worked for years to challenge and change the status of the telecommunications…