It is Sept. 27 after midnight on the second floor of Hale Library. As students hustled to
finish up their homework and squeeze in last minute studying, Ryan Ewing, sophomore in social sciences, prepared to propose to his girlfriend of one
year, Verlisa Cradle, sophomore in life sciences. The couple met last fall on the
second floor of Hale and have been dating ever since.
“She used to sit on the computers and just mug me and be all mean, so I decided to go up and say hi,” Ewing said. Ever since they started dating, Hale has been a common site for the couple.
Margaret Boucher, security guard at Hale, is a witness of the couple’s frequent visits.
“I see this couple all the time,” Boucher said. “They are friendly and always talk to me, they are great kids.”
The couple was nearing their first year anniversary on Oct. 14, and originally, Ewing was going to propose to Cradle on their anniversary. However, Ewing could not keep his plans a secret for much longer and decided to pop the question as soon as possible. With the help of his friends, including Byron Brown, junior in social sciences, Boucher made sure Cradle was at Hale and was sitting at the same computers where Ewing had first laid eyes on her.
“I was at a casino in Topeka and was supposed to be here at 11 p.m. and meet up with her after she got done watching the Blue Man show, so that I could help her with her paper, but I got delayed with traffic,” Ewing said.
After arriving an hour and a half late to Hale, Ewing squatted next to Cradle who was working on her American Literature assignment, got on one knee and proposed. After asking Ewing if he was being serious, Cradle finally said yes. The couple was quickly congratulated by all of their friends and received various cheers from K-State students who witnessed the engagement.
“I was not expecting this, I was actually sending him all sorts of bad text messages, mad at him because he was not here helping me,” Cradle said. “I actually already started on some wedding plans, but I was not expecting him to propose this early.”
After the excitement of the proposal wore down, Cradle quickly got back on the computer and finished writing her paper, with the help of Ewing by her side.
