This story was written by Cori Burcham.
Many University of Delaware alumni have a connection to campus that remains strong long after graduation. For Connor McLaughlin and Kaylynn Hanna, 2019 graduates of UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, there’s more than one.
Nearly 40 UD alumni were in attendance at their wedding last fall at the Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May in N.J. This isn’t the first time UD has played matchmaker for the McLaughlin and Hanna families — both sets of parents met and fell in love as students — making Connor and Kaylynn the ultimate Double Del match.
As children of alumni, UD was always on Connor and Kaylynn’s radar. Connor, born the weekend of UD Homecoming in 1996, grew up cheering on the Fightin’ Blue Hens at the Delaware-Villanova games with his family. A multigenerational legacy student, Kaylynn was preceded at UD by her parents, an aunt and older sister. While Connor and Kaylynn valued their strong family history at UD, it only encouraged them more to forge their own legacy.
“My dad and brother are both in accounting, and I knew early on that it wasn’t really what I wanted to do,” said Connor, who became a finance major with a trust management minor in his sophomore year. Coming from a family of engineers, Kaylynn similarly decided to pursue her own passion for marketing, a choice which led Kaylynn and Connor to cross paths at UD.
As first-year students, Kaylynn and Connor shared a macroeconomics class, and quickly discovered they had mutual friends both on and off campus. It meant seeing more of each other outside of the classroom and over summer break. When they returned to campus in the fall, the two began dating and have been together ever since. Many of Connor and Kaylynn’s early memories as a couple are enmeshed with their college experience — Greek parties, meeting up between classes at Lerner Hall and date nights at Klondike Kate’s.
When Connor and Kaylynn began to share the details of their relationship with their families, both sets of parents were surprised to learn they all graduated from UD in the Class of ’84 and two of them had even been friends. Jeff McLaughlin, a Lerner College graduate and current executive in residence in accounting and management information systems at UD; and Chuck Hanna, a graduate of the College of Engineering, both played for UD’s basketball team and became close friends on and off the court. Jeff noted he unfortunately lost touch with Chuck after graduation.
“That’s the funny part about all this. Connor and Kaylynn met totally independent of either her father or me. It had nothing to do with the fact that Chuck and I knew each other,” said Jeff.
“I thought it was quite a coincidence that Kaylynn met and began dating the son of someone with whom Chuck played basketball at UD. Obviously, we had no idea they would continue dating and end up engaged,” said Colleen Hanna, mother of the bride and graduate of the College of Engineering.
After dating in and out of college for eight years, Connor decided to propose to Kaylynn in June 2024 at another place with special significance to the couple and their families: the Jersey Shore. Through a happy coincidence, both families owned homes in Avalon located a mere five blocks away from each other. As the setting where the two families merged into one, it became the couple’s favorite place, making it the perfect spot to take the next step.
“Connor told me we were going on a boat ride with his family to dinner, but at the dock, he proposed. All of our family and friends were at the shore to celebrate with us that weekend,” said Kaylynn, a befitting start to their union, given that friends introduced them.
With mutual friendships playing such a large role in their children’s love story, parents Jeff and Colleen shared why UD is such a special place for building lifelong connections. As an instructor, Jeff has had the privilege of watching friendships form in real-time within his classroom, which he attributes to the class size.
“Delaware has a very active social life on campus,” said Jeff, which is as true today as it was when he was a student. Campus events are the reason he met his wife Kathleen, a graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences, whom he was set up with by a friend from high school during their first year for a “blind date” party hosted at the Russell residence halls.
Colleen mentioned the University’s charm lies in its accessibility, which is reminiscent of private and liberal arts institutions.
“UD does a great job of making a large school feel smaller,” said Colleen. She experienced that firsthand when she met her husband over spring break their senior year, and realized they shared a U.S. history class and mutual friends.
In addition to their rich personal lives, the newlyweds also credit their career success to the Lerner College. Connor, a senior fiduciary associate for BNY Wealth in Philadelphia, attributes his entry into the industry to UD’s minor in trust management. According to Connor, it facilitated his first internship and helped him navigate complex estate and wealth planning issues for clients.
Before she became a category manager for Perpay Inc. in Philadelphia, Kaylynn participated in the Lerner Executive Mentoring Program. Through her mentor, she sharpened her interviewing and networking skills, which led to her first job in merchandising.
“UD has had such a big impact on our lives. Connor and I met because of Delaware. We have so many friends because of Delaware. We have the careers we have — it has impacted our entire lives in such a positive way,” said Kaylynn, who’s looking forward to one day sharing UD with her own children as her parents did with her.