No one thinks that attending a high school reunion is going to alter their life path, but for Ashley (Chavez) Czyz ’08, that’s exactly what happened. Throughout the four years on Winton Drive at Carondelet and De La Salle, respectively, Ashley and Michael didn’t talk much, in fact they didn’t talk at all!
Both athletes in school, she ran track and cross country and he was on the football and lacrosse teams. They even knew of one another, but it wasn’t until five years after graduating that they had their first conversation at the Carondelet-De La Salle High School reunion.
Their first conversation wasn’t anything crazy, “I think he invited me to a party,” she laughed. “It was super quick and simple, I think we exchanged maybe a total of three sentences.” But then Michael messaged Ashley on social media and the rest, as they say, is history.
They went on a date to dinner a few weeks after and have been together ever since. “It totally snuck up on me,” Ashley explained about their meeting and relationship. “Social media was just starting when we went into college, and it was just really wonderful how it all came together.”
Together, they’ve attended their subsequent reunions, catching up with old friends. “Our high school friends are still some of our closest friends, so it was normal and natural and we each gained whole new friend groups.”
The couple has two sons and is still deeply involved and invested in the community that was formed on Winton Drive. Michael helps at De La Salle with the football program and Ashley teaches in the Kinesiology Department at Carondelet. “We reminisce all the time!”
Now, it’s been ten years since that reunion, and they are looking forward to the next iteration coming up this summer.
“Go to your reunions! As intimidating as it might seem, it’s so fun.”