Catherine was a nerdy quiet little kid. She was raised in both California and Taiwan and learned to appreciate both cultures. As a child she would be found either playing piano or violin, doing arts and crafts, playing badminton, or doing math homework. After high school she moved across the United States to study Music and Biology at UPenn. After living in Guatemala to learn Spanish and do volunteer work, she completed medical school at UCSF. She is now a surgery resident at UCSD.
Raphael grew up in a village in the Swiss Alps. From a young age, he went on adventures in the nearby mountains. He was always building: outside, in the workshop, and with Lego at home. As a teenager, his love for designing and creating things expanded to software. He studied Computer Science and Media Arts in Bern and at MIT, built software in Tokyo, Silicon Valley, Rwanda and is currently running the startup Cron. If not in front of a screen, he can still be found running through forests most of the time.
Raphael and Catherine's paths crossed one fortuitous day in early 2013. Whenever she had short breaks in between surgery cases, he would take the hour-long motorcycle ride up to San Francisco to "be in the neighborhood anyway" and meet for coffee. The first longer activities together were rock climbing and hiking in Big Sur.
Living out of a converted van at that time, Raphael would stay over at Catherine’s apartment in San Francisco. One night Raphael’s van and all his belongings within were stolen. All that was left were the clothes on his back. There was no question that Catherine wanted Raphael to move in and to help him rebuild his life. The rest is history.
In the following years, the pair went on numerous adventures together, traveling to countries like Taiwan, Rwanda, Mexico, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Spain, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Italy, and England. They explored new places and got to know each others' families, friends, and cultures.
When Catherine matched at UC San Diego for surgical residency, Raphael had just gotten accepted into the Masters program at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The distance could not keep the pair apart and they spent the little free time they had during those intense chapters traveling across the United States to see one another.
During Catherine’s research sabbatical she moved to Bern with Raphael after he graduated from MIT. They were finally living in the same place! Their bond grew even stronger as Catherine immersed herself in Swiss culture. In addition to running their first half marathon together, Raphael continued his entrepreneurial pursuits and Catherine got her Masters in Design at the Zürich University of the Arts (ZHdK).
At the time the pandemic hit, Catherine was back in residency in San Diego and Raphael had just started a new company in San Francisco. He caught the last flight back to Switzerland before the first lockdown. The couple overcame the challenges of an international long-distance relationship during the pandemic. Through sharing common values of kindness, generosity, ambition, culture, adventure, efficiency, creativity, humor, and tasty food, their love blossomed for nearly a decade.
During a trip to Switzerland, the couple woke up early to hike the epic Hardergrat before sunrise. Along the way, Raphael picked a few wildflowers, and overlooking the most beautiful lakes and mountain ranges, he asked Catherine to marry him. No surprise, Catherine said yes! On the 17th of June, 2022, Catherine and Raphael wish to celebrate their love - and love in general – with all their close family and friends who have contributed significantly to their lasting relationship. Hope to see you all there!