CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell (C ’95, G’ 03) met her future husband in the New South High School cafeteria during her first week of school.

And for chef Jeff Tracy (C’95), it was love at first sight.

” It was immediate,” says Tracy, president of Chef Geoff’s Deluxe Hospitality in Washington, DC. ” Thinking back, I can’t even believe I met the man I’ve been married to my whole life.”

On the Hill, O’Donnell and Tracy studied together on the top floor of the Lauinger Library, had coffee at Wisemiller’s, and were married six years after graduation in Dahlgren Chapel.

O’Donnell subsequently earned a Master of Arts degree from Georgetown and began her Emmy Award-winning journalism career covering presidential elections for NBC News and CBS News. She is the anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News and a correspondent for 60 Minutes. For Tracy, who considered running The Corp’s Vital Vittles restaurant a significant career learning experience while still a student, he was the first in his class to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America and opened two restaurants before turning 30. Today, he manages four restaurants in Washington, D.C., and Maryland and caters at Georgetown Jesuit Residence.

Q: How did you first meet?

Norah: In 1991, Jeff and I met in line at the New South cafeteria. It was the first week of school. 

Jeff: To start a conversation, we used a hoodie. You must have some foundation; otherwise, you’re just a random person < laughs>. Ms. Nora grew up in Texas and had a very different look than the people I went to boarding school in New England. So I thought, “We should go and talk to them.” So we got up the courage and went over and said hello. 

Norah: Every time we say that we’ve known each other and been together for more than half our lives. I’m 49 now, and Jeff recently turned 50.

Q: And when was your first date? When did your relationship become official?

Jeff: They only became official after we married, and she officially said yes <laughs>. When you’re young, a relationship like that can go in many directions. But for me, Nora was the person I wanted to hold on to. October 4, 1991, was our first anniversary.

Q: Going back to your Georgetown experience, it was your education and a big part of your life, but it was also where you fell in love. How do you remember Georgetown today? What does school mean to you?

Norah: First, we are grateful to have gotten in there. And second of all, we were destined

to meet each other there. In addition, I am thankful for the friendships we made along the way. The university still has a solid attachment to us, so we decided to live in Washington, DC. People experience college differently. Our experience was compelling, influencing the rest of our lives.

Jeff: It’s undoubtedly the reason we still live in Washington. We liked it, and it gave us opportunities.