Exploring the Swoon-Worthy Love Story Behind Reneé Alvarez and Ryan Alvarado’s 13-Year Marriage

From her infectious smile to her enthusiastic “Hey!” anyone who has walked into Val knows Reneé Alvarez, who works as a meal checker and data entry clerk at the dining hall. Beyond this, there’s another important reason why Amherst feels like Alvarez’s home: She shares the campus with her husband, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Ryan Alvarado. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, they sat down with The Student to share their story.

It begins in the summer of 2012 in Columbia, Missouri. At the time, Alvarez was working as a business manager at the University of Missouri, while Alvarado was there working towards his Ph.D. in mathematics. One night, Alvarez and her friends were out celebrating her birthday when a friend who had previously taken a math class with Alvarado introduced the pair.

Soon after, Alvarez started attending the same workout class as Alvarado at their local gym, and, as Alvarez said, “Before I knew it, four months had passed, and we were having a shotgun wedding.”

With her best friends in prom dresses, Alvarez dressed in white, and a mutual friend as the officiant, the wedding party traveled to downtown Columbia where the couple made it official in front of a “really cool-looking” building. What followed was a whirlwind of bar crawling, free drinks, and a much-deserved half-off Steak and Shake meal. “It was an amazing night. Just perfect. Nobody was telling us what to do or how to do it. It was plain and simple fun,” said Alvarez.

After obtaining his Ph.D, Alvarado completed his post-doctoral studies at the University of Pittsburgh before applying for 20 different positions as a mathematics professor. After receiving 10 offers, he happily accepted a position at Amherst College.“Who turns down the number two liberal arts college in the country?”

Originally, Alvarez planned to stay home and support Alvarado in his mission to be a tenured professor. But during the pandemic, her “social butterfly” persona was not satisfied.

“I needed people,” said Alvarez. After seeing that Val was hiring, she put in an application and got an offer right away.

When asked what working on the same campus as her spouse is like, Alvarez smiled. “You know, when I first started working here, I would introduce myself as Professor Alvarado’s wife. I was attached to him,” she said. “But now … he is attached to me. He only knows the select group of students he teaches, but I know all of you!”

What started as a professional opportunity for Alvarado soon became a chance for Alvarez to build a community of her own — one that she deems “absolutely perfect.”

“It’s nice working at the same place as him because I know that he is here,” said Alvarez. “But also being able to call a certain part of this school my own is the best feeling.”

Thirteen years after their swoon-worthy wedding night, Alvarado and Alvarez have officially found their home at Amherst College. The key to their success?

“Find someone here, or anywhere in life, that you can be 100% yourself with,” said Alvarez. “[Someone] who accepts everything about you — the good, the bad, the crazy.”

All that is to say, whether you’re hanging with friends, looking for love, or enjoying some well-deserved me time this Valentine’s Day, if romance can find its way from a Steak n Shake to a small liberal arts college in rural Western Massachusetts, maybe it can find you too.