With help from his fellow Cougs, Washington State University student Simon Brannan turned a seven-week study abroad trip to the birthplace of the Renaissance into a life-changing moment where the history and romance of Florence, Italy left him knowing exactly what he had to do.
“I love her, and it felt like time,” Brannan said. “She’s my best friend.”
Proposing to his high school sweetheart, Katelyn Cornish, was the perfect cap to the immersive Italian experience. Cornish flew out to meet Brannan at the end of the study abroad session, unaware of his plan, or how it came to fruition.
Getting everything ready for the big moment took a group effort that included his faculty advisor, Assistant Professor Jessica Murray, native Florentines they’d met along the way and, of course, his fellow students.
Cougs help Cougs, no matter where they are across the globe, especially when matters of the heart are on the line.
First, he needed a ring.
Murray, with the Hospitality Business Management department within Carson College of Business, has led the Florence trip for many years and shared some of her local intel. She pointed Brannan to a leather worker named “Mozzi” who in turn directed Brannan to a jewelry shop where he selected the ring.
“It was super sweet how it all came around. After one of our big group dinners we were walking around the city and I could hear some of the guys talking to Simon saying, ‘Ask Jessica, Jessica might know,’” Murray said. “Once Simon picked the ring, he brought it to a group dinner to show us all. By this point, the whole group knew what he was planning and were very excited for him … The girls were all giving suggestions on locations in the city that were private, recommending he tell his fiancée they were going to a fancy restaurant, so she dressed up.”
But even the most meticulous plans can’t account for every variable.
It was the hottest day since Brannan had been in Florence and he and his then-girlfriend walked through the Giardino Bardini gardens, wading through the humid air, getting stickier and sweatier by the minute. In sight of the domed Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore, Brannan was ready to ask his soon-to-be fiancée to marry, and all the discomforting heat melted away. He had the ring, a blue sapphire, stored in his fanny pack that was padlocked and he had to fumble through unlocking it and unzipping the pack quietly all while Cornish had her back to him.
“One thing I think is important in a relationship is not keeping secrets from each other,” he said. “This was the first time I had an actual secret. I wanted to tell her everything. It was the first time I actually couldn’t tell her.”
Brannan knelt, asked her to marry him, and through tears, Cornish said yes.
Cornish said she couldn’t stop crying for the next 45 minutes, overwhelmed with positive emotions.
“I immediately knew my answer was yes,” she said. “I just love how I feel when I’m with him. I feel very safe and comfortable, but he still pushes me to be my best person.”
She said they went directly to a jeweler to get the ring sized and she was still overcome and unable to speak to the clerk through the tears.
“I barely could get the words out of my mouth but I said, ‘He proposed’ and the whole shop went ‘Oh my gosh, congrats,’” she said.
Brannan and Cornish met in 2017 while in high school in Pullman. The couple’s first date was a trip to the movies to watch the live-action “Beauty and the Beast.” The only problem was both were too young to drive. They walked nearly three miles from Cornish’s home to the movie theater, but the miles slipped by as the couple talked the whole trip.
From their young start, the couple has grown and matured as a unit. After almost 8 years together Brannan was ready to commit to life with Cornish.
The couple hasn’t picked a date but is looking at a Spring 2026 wedding. Brannan is set to graduate in December 2025. As for the more immediate future, the couple plans to spend some quality time together for Valentine’s Day.
“I like to think I’m a pretty good cook,” Brannan said. “Maybe steak, maybe pasta, have some good wine, have some good food, and hang out with each other.”
