Casey Harrison and McKenna Ross knew each other for more two years before they started dating, but for more than half that time, she did not know he was interested in her.
“To be honest, from the very first day I started working, (I was interested in McKenna),” Casey said.
They met their freshman year in late August 2015 during State News training.
“Freshman year, very first day, we were all introducing ourselves,” Casey said. “We were all sitting in a circle, talking about if we liked guac, queso or salsa. You always go around the room, and she just stuck out to me.”
They became really good friends during the summer of 2017, and started dating on Nov. 21, 2017, McKenna said.
“I don’t think that we would be dating if it wasn’t for hanging out and flirting in the office all the months leading up us dating,” McKenna said. “I think that just working together is nice, because he and I are going through the same things.”
Dating someone who understands what life is like when you work at The State News is great, they said.
“We’ve dated other people in college and it’s hard to describe what’s going on in the office, and the stresses, and the things, and the drama, and the good and bad things that happen because of working in the media,” McKenna said. “To have a boyfriend who literally is going through the same thing is really nice.”
Casey is the men’s basketball beat reporter and McKenna is the managing editor, which means there can be a little bit of a power dynamic, he said.
“It’s been an interesting dynamic in the sense that since she is managing editor she can’t go over any of my larger centerpiece ideas,” Casey said. “That’s just to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. Other than that, I wouldn’t say it’s really affected our work in any other way.”
In fact, work bringing them together makes their relationship special, McKenna said.
“That’s what makes it better, that it happened because of The State News,” McKenna said.
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