Michele Alison Ripka and Avery Joseph Schonberger met at The University of Michigan Hillel and began a romantic engagement.
Schonberger planned the surprise engagement outside the Hillel Building as the final stop of a scavenger hunt. Ripka said “Yes, yes, yes… yes, yes, yes.” They were featured on the Jumbotron at the “Big House”, the University of Michigan football stadium.
Schonberger is the founder and CEO of Rubicon Robotics, a sports robotics company. Ripka is an associate at Goldman Sachs in New York City.
Both Ripka and Schonberger are accomplished musicians who have performed professionally on violin and keyboards, respectively, at venues in Michigan and New York.
Ripka is the daughter of Geri Kushner Ripka, co-director of the Music Institute of Long Island and James Ripka, a science educator, who reside in Syosset. Schonberger is the son of Shelley Schonberger and Jeffrey Schonberger of Alturas REI, who reside in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
