Dubai: Meet lovestruck couples who survived college together, graduated hand in hand

The auditorium buzzed with excitement as graduates donned their caps and gowns, cameras flashing as proud families captured the moment. Among the sea of smiling faces were man and wife, Fan and Xin Yang, standing side by side, holding their baby in their arms. It wasn’t just a graduation ceremony—it was a celebration of their journey together.

“We never planned for this to happen,” Xin told Khaleej Times. “When I joined the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) for my Financial Management programme in January 2021, my husband Fan had already started his course a year earlier. So, we thought our graduations would be at completely different times.”

But fate had other plans.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Fan recalled how it all began. “I joined the university in 2020 to study MBA. At the time, Xin was working as an accountant for an airline company, and flights had been suspended due to the pandemic. She was home, and I encouraged her to apply as well. I told her, ‘This is the perfect time to pursue your degree.’”

Xin enrolled in an MBA programme but the journey wasn’t easy. “I had to learn English from scratch,” she said. “My English was very poor at the beginning, and I struggled to understand the lectures. Fan pushed me to keep going. He would say, ‘Watch YouTube videos, practise, and don’t give up.’ He’s always been my biggest supporter.”

The couple’s dream of studying together became a reality. They spent countless hours in the library, side by side, poring over their coursework. “We’d sit there for hours, helping each other where we could. Those were some of the best moments—just the two of us, working toward our goals together.”

Graduating with baby

Life threw them a curve ball in 2022 when Xin discovered she was pregnant. “At first, it was a shock,” Fan admitted. “We were both juggling work and studies, and now we had a baby on the way. It felt overwhelming, but we decided to take it one step at a time.”

Xin took a one-term gap during her winter semester to focus on her pregnancy. Their baby was born in June 2023, adding another layer of joy—and responsibility—to their lives. “Those months were tough,” Xin said. “But looking back, they were also some of the most memorable. We weren’t just building our careers; we were building our family.”

Initially, their graduations were set to be months apart. Fan completed his certification in January 2024, while Xin finished hers in May. “We thought we’d have separate ceremonies,” Xin said. “But then, at the beginning of the year, the university sent an email saying that all graduates from this year would be part of the October ceremony.”

The news was a dream come true. “We were so excited,” Fan said. "Graduating together was something we’d never thought possible, but here we were, getting ready to walk across the stage side by side.”

The day of the ceremony was filled with emotion. Their baby and Xin’s mother joined them for photos, capturing the culmination of years of hard work, sacrifice, and resilience.

“Having our baby in our graduation photo made it so special,” Xin said. “It wasn’t just about us any more—it was about our family. Life doesn’t always go as planned,” Fan said. “Studying together, becoming parents, and now graduating together—it’s been a challenging, beautiful, and unforgettable experience.”

Fiancées on campus

Similarly, Shruti Ganesh and Vineet Garmella’s love story unfolded in the halls of their college at UOWD, where they were both studying for their master's degree in marketing. “We had a couple of classes together during our semesters and that’s how I met him,” Shruti said. Initially, they were in different groups, but their shared passion for marketing made them top students in their respective teams. “It was very competitive and enjoyable between us. We would send our assignments to each other after submission and get feedback," Shruti said, reflecting on how their friendship grew from mutual respect for each other’s work.

As the semester ended, their relationship deepened. “Towards the end of the semester, we realised that we were compatible on other fronts as well. We discovered the person behind the work, and that’s when we fell in love with each other,” Shruti said. They started to bond on a personal level, drawn closer by their shared values, family orientations, and common Telugu language.

Shruti remembers a pivotal moment. “We were both really passionate about consumer behaviour for an assignment on an island in the UAE. I was really impressed with the way he started the presentation and his perspective on things.” That admiration sparked her desire to know Vineet more deeply.

Recalling a moment that has stuck to Vineet’s mind, the 30-year-old said: “She described what kind of wife she thought I would get, and in that moment, she described the characteristics that she possesses. I also realised that it was time to take the next step.”

• Look: Sheikh Mohamed congratulates Dubai Ruler's grandson for graduation from UK military academy