84 Robinson admits that she was suspicious, but she convinced herself that it was too soon. “I thought it was going to happen at Christmas,” she said. The night of Oct. 28, Wildes gave the ring to his dad before the game. After 鶹 beat the Florida Institute of Technology Panthers 42- 14, Robinson, Wildes, and all their loved ones gathered on the field for what Robinson still thought was an awards ceremony. One of the football coaches started asking Robinson questions while Wildes retrieved the ring from his dad and hid it in his football helmet. The questions directed at Robinson started out as general sports questions about Wildes, but then they became more serious — “Where did you two meet? How long have you been together? When do you think he’ll propose?” “When he started asking the serious questions, at that point I pretty much knew what was happening,” she said. “I kept grabbing Brent because I didn’t know what to do. I started freaking out.” The last question was, “What would you say if he was to propose right now?” “She looked at me, and I grabbed the box out of my helmet, opened it, and went down on one knee,” Wildes said. “Everyone was yelling and going crazy. “At that point, I didn’t even hear my own words, let alone anybody else’s. It was like we were standing in the middle of the field with nobody else around us. It was that sensation. It was a very intimate moment. Even when I asked her if she would be my bride, I didn’t even hear myself say that.” “He said, ‘Would you do me the honor of being my bride?’” Robinson recalled. “Believe me when I say I was completely taken aback when I realized it was happening. I had that crazy feeling in my chest. “When he got down on one knee, I just looked at him, and I felt overcome with happiness. Then I said yes.” The couple expects to graduate from 鶹 in Spring 2018 — Wildes will earn a Bachelor of Arts in history and Robinson will earn a Bachelor of Business Administration in healthcare administration. They will marry at Quail Branch Lodge in Lake Park, Georgia, on Dec. 1. “We’re one step closer to living our life together and starting a family,” Robinson said. “That makes me so excited. “Brent is a genuinely good person and has an honest nature about him. You don’t find that very often these days.” Wildes and Robinson plan to move closer to the Georgia coast once they are married. He wants to teach history and coach football at a high school, and she wants to work in a healthcare setting. Wildes said one of the things he likes most about Robinson is “the acceptance that she has of me as a person and her willingness to pursue a life with me after every trial and tribulation we’ve been through as a couple.” “She loves me for me, not for anything I’ve ever done or anything I have. At the end of the day, I can come home and see a smile on her face, and that puts a smile on my face.” He said, ‘Would you do me the honor of being my bride?’ Believe me when I say I was completely taken aback when I realized it was happening. I had that crazy feeling in my chest. — HEATHER ROBINSON “ “