Love Springs Eternal On St. Petersburg College’s Tarpon Springs Campus

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — Student engagement took on a whole new meaning at St. Petersburg College’s Tarpon Springs Campus in December, when Michael Nardone, 26, and Amanda Kreplick, 23, got engaged there in the very spot where they first laid eyes on each other.

A few days into her first semester as an SPC student, Kreplick was handing out water bottles and planners to passing Tarpon Springs Campus students at a Student Life and Leadership Welcome Back event. Nardone was walking by with a friend, and not only did he accept her offerings, he returned the favor.

“He offered me an energy drink packet for my water bottle,” Kreplick said. “He had to run to class, but after that, we spent weeks locking eyes in various clubs and spots on campus, talking more and more.”

That simple act and an instant attraction began what would become a relationship that is now in its sixth year.

“I first noticed her kindness and her great sense of humor,” Nardone said. “She was so thoughtful towards me and everyone around her.”

By 2020, Nardone was ready to propose, and though he’d been dropping some heavy hints about his intentions throughout the year, by the time December 19 rolled around, he had a plan that was designed to keep his lady guessing.

“He said he wanted to take me to dinner that night, and he told me to pick anywhere I wanted to go,” Kreplick said. “I suspected he was going to propose wherever I picked, which is exactly what he wanted me to think.”

On that day, Nardone took her to lunch at the taco place where they had their first date, and they grabbed some donuts in that same plaza, which was strategically chosen for its proximity to SPC’s Tarpon Springs Campus.

“He suggested we drive through the SPC campus to reminisce,” she said. “I just really thought he was buttering me up for the dinner proposal. He suggested we take a pic in the spot where we met behind the BB building. I always do a video rather than taking just one pic, so the video was going, and we were in the spot we met. As soon as I turned around from setting up the camera on my phone, he dropped down to one knee and asked me to marry him.”

Love must be in the air on that campus, because Kreplick and Nardone are the second couple to meet and get engaged there. Nardone felt it was the perfect spot.

“Without SPC Tarpon, we would have never met,” he said. “We wouldn’t share all of the memories of fun times working out with Kim, the physical trainer, laughing with our friends and peers, meeting up between classes to go to campus events together, and so much more.”

Nardone graduated in 2017, and Kreplick in 2018, both with Associate Degrees. Kreplick is now a student at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, majoring in Psychology, and Nardone is at USF in Tampa studying Engineering. They are planning an August wedding in Palm Harbor, another special place for them.

“We spent many years living there as teenagers in high school, college students attending SPC, living together for the first time, and eventually, it’s where we plan to start our family,” Kreplick said.

Nardone said they will always hold SPC’s Tarpon Springs Campus close to their hearts.

“It’s where we met, fell in love, and got engaged,” he said.

This press release was produced by the St Petersburg College News. The views expressed are the author's own.