Emily D. Donahue ’09 and Greg J. Mancuso

Emily D. Donahue ’09 and Greg J. Mancuso prove that it’s not always opposites that attract.

Mancuso, 24, and Donahue, 22—who got engaged last month after almost a year of dating—are both vegetarians who enjoy exercising, listen to similar music, and say they rarely argue.

The couple met through a study held at William James Hall and went on their first date last May. Over dinner at an Indian restaurant, the pair bonded over their shared taste in music. Mancuso, who had spent the past few years playing 300 nights a year with his band, GBD Band, admired Donahue’s Beatles t-shirt and anecdote about singing Frank Zappa on the playground as a young child.

The East Ruckland, Mass. resident said he worried that Donahue would not want to go on a second date with him. It didn’t help that after he asked about a second date, Donahue told him that she’d go on another date with him even if she didn’t actually want to.

“I don’t know why I felt the need to explain that, but I did actually want to go out with him again,” said Donahue, a psychology concentrator.

Donahue said she was surprised Mancuso recognized her on their second date—she had cut 20 inches of her hair off and gotten her ears pierced in the days between their first and second dates. Luckily, Mancuso said he liked her short hairstyle, and during the following summer, Donahue remained in Cambridge to work for the Harvard Summer School Activities Office and the couple spent much of their time together.

Over the summer, the couple traveled together to both Florida and Provincetown, Mass, which Donahue—an active member of both the Queer Students and Allies and the True Love Revolution during her time at Harvard—said she particularly enjoyed.

The couple began discussing marriage after about nine months of dating, but Donahue had told Mancuso she wouldn’t marry anyone unless they had been dating for at least a year. She didn’t expect it when Mancuso proposed on Castle Island after eleven months and two weeks of dating.

“After we’d already decided we wanted to move in together and spend the rest of our lives together, that was kind of the logical step, so I was really excited about it,” said Donahue, a Georgia native.

After Donahue graduates, the couple will move to Rio Grande Valley, Texas where she will teach elementary school through Teach for America and he will work as an Edward Jones financial advisor. The couple plans to wed on June 6 of next year, but have yet to decide if they will be married in Massachusetts or in Texas. Donahue said it will likely be a “kind of weird wedding” with multiple flower girls, male bridesmaids, and lots of bright colors.

The pair described themselves as very affectionate and recalled one instance in which they were “clingy” while riding the T together. When Mancuso got off before Donahue, both said, “I love you.”

“Apparently!” said another woman on the train.