A pair of former residence education assistants (REAs) recently celebrated their engagement in a special way thanks to the help of friends they made in Residential Life at Purdue.
Cass Cripe and Matt Demmary first met at a luncheon during REA training. Cass was then serving as an REA in First Street Towers, while Matt was entering his first year as an REA in Cary Quad. During the early stages of training, Matt sent out a message asking if anyone would be interested in joining him for a run, and Cass and another REA joined him. The run didn’t turn out to be the most auspicious beginning, but it set the stage for what was to follow.
“I got shin splints and when he sent out another message to run, I never responded,” Cass recalls. “Then, he came to one of the presentations I was giving during the RA [resident assistant] training which was about preventing burnout and compassion fatigue. I jokingly told him that the reason I couldn’t run anymore was because I was overworked when I went on the run with him and the other REA. He felt really bad, so he sent me an apology later that night. I told him I can always walk, so we ended up going for walks.”
By the time classes started, Matt and Cass had started dating and their involvement in Residential Life formed a key part of their relationship - whether it was spending time with their peers in ResLife, planning events or helping each other through calls they received while on duty. They also enjoyed visiting Ford Dining Court for chicken alfredo on Sundays, seeing movies, skating and continuing their walks around campus. Matt and Cass graduated in May 2024 and moved to Indianapolis, where Matt works as a process engineer for a mining company and Cass serves as a Registered Nurse at Riley Children’s Hospital.
When the time came to propose, Matt enlisted the help of his friend Chip Stembler, currently the residence education coordinator associate at Hillenbrand Hall. Chip, who is studying professional flight, has regular access to aircraft he can rent through Purdue Aviation. Under the guise of needing to accumulate more night flying hours, Chip offered his services for Matt’s idea – an aerial proposal over the skyline of Chicago at night. Another friend would join to take photos.
“We tried to fly with Chip during Senior Week, but it just didn’t work out,” Matt says. “He was my REA and actually my boss during my second year. We’re still close friends. I described the proposal idea to him and less than a week later, he had the plane rented.”
The plan went off without a hitch. On a perfect, clear night to fly and in view of the Chicago Skyline from over Lake Michigan, Matt proposed. He brought a bag of Airhead Extremes candy – Cass’ favorite – with his proposal written on a note inside in case speaking through headsets on the aircraft was difficult. After some initial joking, Cass said yes and the couple were immediately able to take photos and celebrate with friends.
“It was great,” Cass says. “I was glad to have them there in the moment because there were people to immediately celebrate with. They’re also two people who we’re close with and all four of us happened to meet through Res Life. It felt like a full circle moment because we all started as RAs together and now, we’re getting our own adult jobs and we’re still friends.”
Congratulations to Matt and Cass on their engagement! We thank them for allowing us to share their story.