Each year, Pratt Institute celebrates Valentine’s Day by sharing the stories of alumni who found love while they were students. Read the stories of this year’s Pratt Pairs collected by the Office of Alumni Engagement, including serendipitous campus connections, favorite New York City date spots, and relationship advice they have for Pratt students today.
Do you know of other Pratt pairs or partners? The Office of Alumni Engagement would love to hear from you. Please share your stories by emailing alumni@pratt.edu.
Jan Eagers, BFA Fashion Design ’75, and Michael Thompson, BArch ’76
How and where did you first meet?
We met in October 1972. Jan had an open invitation to come to the Willoughby dorm to meet a classmate’s new Siamese kitten. One Sunday morning, she needed to visit Pratt Library, but she found it closed until noon, a full hour from then. That provided the perfect opportunity to stroll over to the dorm to meet the kitten. Upon her arrival at the dorm, she found her friend not at home. Once down the elevator, the doors opened, and she was face-to-face with her classmate, and he invited her to come back up to his apartment. Entering the elevator with him was Michael Thompson, his roommate. So, we met in the dorm elevator because of a cat! We were 19 years old.
What is your favorite Pratt memory as a couple?
We loved Pratt life—the drama, beauty, and rugged, survival-of-the-fittest environment of the time—but the outstanding element was meeting and forming friendships with what became our lifelong circle of friends. While at Pratt, we met the core individuals who made our lives whole. We are still in contact with many, and they continue to enrich our lives daily.
What is your favorite date story or date spot in New York?
Funds were tight during our student days, so we sought activities that weren’t costly. We loved visiting the Cloisters (a long A train ride from Brooklyn), and the Botanic Gardens, both the Bronx and Brooklyn gardens. There we found the peace and beauty of nature helping to balance our frenzied city life. When we did have a few extra dollars, we would gather a few friends together and go to Eric’s Bar & Grill and share a pitcher of beer. I remember a gallon pitcher costing around $7.00 back in the early 1970s.
Do you have any relationship advice for current students?
The only relationship advice I would feel comfortable giving to students would be to have fun, make wonderful memories, and choose your life mate carefully. That is what we did, and we have enjoyed over 50 years together, recently celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary.
Where are you now, personally and professionally?
Jan was a fashion design major, and Michael’s intense love of skiing dramatically influenced her career path. Because of Michael, she decided to design and construct ski apparel for her senior design project that won the Monika Tilley Award, though her first job was in high fashion patternmaking and draping for Karl Lagerfeld’s CHLOE AMERICA Collection. Within a year, she was recommended for a skiwear design position, eventually leading to her accepting a position requiring a move to Aspen, Colorado. This sealed her fate as a skiwear designer and performance outerwear designer working for many notable outdoor apparel brands in her 40-year career. Jan presently spends her time making art and designing for herself and our five grandchildren. We made our life in Aspen and raised two daughters there; one is a film editor and one is an MD.
Michael completed his bachelor of architecture degree in 1976 and chose to expand on his education with a job in construction management around the DC area until Jan was hired by the Obermeyer clothing-design firm in Aspen, a dream for a kid growing up skiing in New England. A construction management background served him well in many years designing and managing hotels and commercial and very high-end residential projects around the mountain resort communities of the American West. The recession of 2008 stopped many projects in their tracks, and Michael transitioned to designing high-performance, low-energy greenhouses in association with the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute. He has been designing these facilities around the USA and Canada, as well as in Europe and South Africa. He is a partner with Jerome Osentowski in the design firm Eco Systems Design, Inc. The Rocky Mountains still hold his heart for bikepacking and backcountry skiing and exploring the beauty of nature and the small agricultural communities around the West.
Jane Wu, BFA Film ’10, and Alec Iselin, BFA Film ’14
How and where did you first meet?
We met at BigStar motion design studio in NYC, where we both worked. We started as friends, sharing a passion for animation and video games. We loved how dedicated to our craft we both were, working on independent short films/projects or taking classes outside of work. We understood each other without many words, where we could be ourselves, from silly to career driven.
What is your favorite Pratt memory as a couple?
We never met while we were actually Pratt students. But we’re glad we met later in life, since we were still too young then and had to navigate careers and life in general. Wish we had a better Pratt story!
What is your favorite date story or date spot in New York?
It was at Zero Space, an immersive experience that had a massive space with fantastic interactive art with actors. We loved it so much Jane had reached out to Zero Space, told them our story, and planned a surprise 30th birthday party for Alec at the new Zero Space in Brooklyn. They let us use their XR stage to screen his short film on loop during the party. It was epic and unforgettable!
Do you have any relationship advice for current students?
Have fun and don’t take it too seriously. Focus on your craft, finding yourself, and building your first network (classmates and teachers). You will also attract others a lot easier once you’ve found yourself, have confidence, and have your career together. Go all-in on your artistic endeavors while you don’t need to think about working for a client. If you do find someone, that’s great. If not, I wouldn’t sweat it. Like, at all.
Where are you now, personally and professionally?
Jane is currently a storyboard artist on the award-winning animated series Blue Eye Samurai for Netflix. Alec is an FX technical director for Framestore and worked on the live-action One Piece, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and several commercial clients. We moved to Hudson Valley, NY, in 2022. Alec still makes time for his independent work, while Jane teaches and takes drawing classes to hone her skills outside of her full-time job.
Jaye Moon, BFA Sculpture ’94, and Jeff Gabel, MFA Painting ’95
How and where did you first meet?
We first met during the spring 1993 semester in Terry Myers’ Art Criticism class. The class involved visiting selected galleries and writing reviews of the exhibitions. Jeff asked me if we could go see the exhibitions together. We visited many galleries, but the most memorable was 303 Gallery on Greene Street in SoHo, where Lisa Yuskavage’s work was on view. The gallery was located on the second floor, and we still recall the narrow staircase leading up to it and the grocery store down on the street where we saw their cat sleeping on top of the potatoes.
At the time, SoHo was still the primary center for galleries. As we spent time visiting many galleries in SoHo and talking about the artwork, we discovered that we shared similar interests. Through those conversations, we grew closer and became good friends.
What is your favorite Pratt memory as a couple?
In the early 1990s, Pratt operated an hourly shuttle van for students from early evening until late night. The van ran from Pratt campus, making various stops and ending at Jay Street/Borough Hall or Atlantic Ave station. Jeff worked at the Pratt Library in the evenings, Jaye worked late as a technician assistant at the Pratt Woodshop, and we both often worked late in studio, so we took the van almost every night. On the ride back to campus after his final stop, Bill, the driver, would drop us off at South Portland Ave. We got to know him and his oldies radio station and had many memorable conversations.
What is your favorite date story or date spot in New York?
Jeff took me out on our first date to a restaurant called Boxer in Greenwich Village. When it came time to order, he realized the prices were higher than he expected. We didn’t have credit cards back then. He told me to order whatever I wanted, but since he was short on money, he chose the cheapest item on the menu for himself. After dinner, I suggested grabbing coffee, and he admitted he didn’t have the money for it. He seemed embarrassed, so I offered to pay. We went to Borgia Café on the corner of Bleecker and MacDougal Street, where Chloe’s is now located. I really appreciated his honesty.
Do you have any relationship advice for current students?
A strong relationship is built on friendship, trust, and shared values. Finding someone with similar interests and lifestyles can create a solid foundation, while being good friends strengthens trust and understanding. Moving in the same direction in life helps couples support each other’s passions and goals. When you genuinely encourage and help each other, you create a partnership where you feel like a team, facing challenges and celebrating successes together. Trust, support, and shared vision are the key ingredients to a meaningful and lasting relationship.
Where are you now, personally and professionally?
We lived on Clinton Avenue near Pratt for over 20 years, raising our daughter there. Our apartment life made the Pratt campus her playground—from stroller walks at 20 months old to rollerblading, bicycling, badminton, picnics, and library visits as she grew up. She is now in law school in California. After she left, we moved to a Bushwick townhouse, combining home and studio. We both continue our art careers: Jaye recently had an exhibition at Brooklyn Museum and was inducted into the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Hall of Fame in 2025. Jeff currently has a solo exhibition at Spencer Brownstone Gallery in the Lower East Side. His work is also on view in the exhibition Where The Small Begins at Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art in Korea. Jeff works as a librarian at Brooklyn Law School, and Jaye is a full-time artist and currently has work on view at the Pratt Library.
Fabio Cardoso, BFA Film ’99, and Kristi Roberson Cardoso, BFA Photography ’01
How and where did you first meet?
We met for the first time on a Thursday night at the Alibi on DeKalb Avenue. Fabio says Kristi teased him about his name, asking, “Is that really your name?” Kristi has blocked the entire encounter from her mind. A year later, in 1999, we “met” again at a themed party in Willoughby Hall, the night spring break began. Fabio was a senior, and Kristi was a sophomore. After that second meeting, we quickly became inseparable. We were so inseparable that the same summer, Fabio caught mononucleosis and never moved out of Kristi’s apartment. Somehow, despite their best efforts, Kristi never caught it.
What is your favorite Pratt memory as a couple?
Kristi spent the summer before her senior year in Luca, attending Pratt’s summer in Italy program. Fabio was working for the U.S. Census Bureau in Downtown Brooklyn until he had enough money saved up to join Kristi in Italy for three weeks. We spent those weeks traveling, eating, and taking photos all over Northern Italy—Milan, Rome, and Venice. It was one of the great travel adventures of our lives. We saw so much—art, cathedrals, beautiful towns, and countryside. A once-in-a-lifetime summer with little responsibility other than finding the next great meal or planning the next museum visit.
What is your favorite date story or date spot in New York?
Fabio was nearly finished with his degree when we met, but Kristi had another two years. We continued to live within a few blocks of Pratt until we left New York in 2003. Fabio had a car, and during the summers, we would drive out to Robert Moses Beach or Coney Island.
On the way back to Brooklyn, after one of our summer drives out to Long Island, we drove by a place advertising live lobster. We decided to pick up a couple for dinner. Kristi enthusiastically agreed up until the moment she locked eyes with those gorgeous crustaceans, and a deep well of pity opened up, and she started crying. We did not have lobster for dinner that night, nor have we ever cooked a live lobster at home in the subsequent 27 years.
Do you have any relationship advice for current students?
Learn how to grow up together, learn how to fight fair, and repair after the fight. Always support each other’s dreams. Find someone you can laugh with and who shares your values.
Where are you now, personally and professionally?
After graduating from Pratt, Fabio pursued an MFA in acting from the Actor’s Studio Drama School at The New School University. Kristi worked at Ralph Appelbaum Associates, a museum planning and design firm in Manhattan. In 2003, we were married at West Point (Kristi’s dad’s alma mater) and moved to Honolulu for what was supposed to be a one-year adventure. Almost 23 years later, we are still in Honolulu! We have two boys, 11 and 14, and we love raising them in Hawaii.
Fabio worked in video production and eventually started his own company. Four years ago, he went back to school and received his MS in counseling psychology and now works as a marriage and family therapist.
Kristi is the executive director of the Liljestrand Foundation, which owns and operates the Liljestrand House. Designed by architect Vladimir Ossipoff and completed in 1952, Liljestrand House is a house museum and program space dedicated to preservation and fostering dialogue on imaginative design.
Read more stories of Pratt Pairs from 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.