Love can blossom even in the heart of winter—but a little hot chocolate at an iconic GW date spot to warm up first never hurt.
Carole Jacobson Rawson, CCAS BA ’78, and Doug Rawson, CCAS BA ’76, met 40 years ago this winter at a Saturday night party before the start of the spring semester in 1975. The couple began their courtship by meeting at Quigley’s Pharmacy (now Tonic) for a pre-date hot chocolate before venturing to Ruby’s in Chinatown for a more formal first date.
What followed over the next year was a blossoming romance and a whirlwind of “only at GW” dating moments.
“We cheered on the Colonials in the brand new Smith Center and visited lots of museums, even seeing the King Tut exhibit,” remembers Carole. “We went to the infamous Watergate hearings, hung out in the ‘Rat,’ rode bikes around the National Mall, and ate at Booeymongers and Crumpets of Georgetown.”
When Doug graduated in 1976, they continued to see each other, commuting back and forth between D.C. and New York City for the next two years. The couple was married two weeks after Carole’s graduation in 1978 and moved to Los Angeles. There, they built their life together and raised their four children: two boys, then two girls.
Their oldest daughter, Liz Rawson, CCAS BA ’14, ventured across the country to follow in her parents footsteps and attend GW. When she graduated last May, Carole and Doug had a chance to see where their 40-year romance began, including a stroll through Kogan Plaza to see their bricks located by the Professor’s Gate.
“Nothing was more fun than visiting GW and walking down memory lane!” says Carole.
—Gray Turner
