Derrick and I met one winter morning in 2012 at an event at Bryant and Stratton College. He, along with members of his fraternity brought boys from their mentoring program to this event. I noticed Derrick from the back of the room as soon as he arrived. He was a big, chocolatey man with beautiful locks of hair that laid nicely against his back. He definitely stood out! Derrick walked over to me while I was helping myself to the event’s self-serve breakfast and introduced himself as Teddy- a name I assumed was short for Theodore for over a month before he told me his actual name. He looked familiar, but I could not recall where I had seen him. Derrick told me I also looked familiar but I later learned that he never saw me before and was just trying to keep a conversation.

 

When the event was over and I proceeded to leave, Derrick stopped me to ask for a business card in case he had questions about radio advertising in the future. I was unknowledgeable about radio advertising at the time, so I pointed him in the direction of my colleague. Derrick then told me he might need different assistance with an upcoming fraternal event.  I was unsure that he was interested in me, so I pointed him towards my colleague again. Finally, a persistent Derrick said, “Well what do I need to do to talk to YOU?”  His objective was very clear and I appreciated it. So I smiled, reached in my purse and handed Derrick my business card. Our story began that day.