Come rain or come shine
May 8—PULLMAN — Washington State University graduation was a special event for one Cougar couple and one they will remember forever.
Recently graduated Alex Coy, wearing his graduation robe, got down on one knee in the middle of a hailstorm to ask his girlfriend, Keelin Hovrud, to marry him in front of the Cougar statue at Beasley Coliseum on Saturday. A crowd that gathered under some shelter during the storm watched as Coy proposed. They then cheered at Hovrud's surprised and joyful reaction and applauded when Coy and Hovrud hugged and kissed.
Hovrud confirmed later that she did say yes.
Coy's mother, Diane Haase, and father, Dwayne Coy, were also witnesses to the happy event.
"I think I was successful in videotaping," Haase said. She was aware of Coy's planned proposal and practiced videotaping on her phone to be able to document the memorable moment.
The stormy weather also turned it into an even bigger event. "The bad weather made it more special," Hovrud said with all the bystanders who were there watching and cheering.
"It didn't ruin it," Coy said with a smile.
"It's like God said, 'I'm not gonna rain on them, I'm gonna make it hail,'" Haase said and took it as a sign of good luck.
The moment was still sinking in for Coy and Hovrud, who both couldn't stop smiling. Hovrud kept showing her ring to Haase, who was also excited and giving Hovrud hugs.
While the weather didn't cooperate, the spot was perfect for Coy and Hovrud. They met in Pullman five years ago. He thought of other places in town, like the apartment they met at on College Hill, to pop the question, but Coy said it wasn't as scenic. Then Hovrud noted that finding the exact spot would be hard. Coy also thought of Kamiak Butte, but ironically, decided against it because the weather can be bad there.
So he settled on Martin Stadium.
"We've had a lot of special times here in Martin Stadium," Coy said. "It's the most sentimental spot for us."
Of course, the reason the two were in Pullman was for graduation. Coy was one of the 2,875 WSU Pullman graduates and Hovrud was one of the 405 graduates from WSU Spokane.
At first their graduations didn't line up, but then because of the COVID-19 pandemic they ended up graduating in the same week. It was the perfect opportunity. "I didn't want to do it anywhere else," Coy said about proposing in Pullman.
Hovrud graduated Thursday in Spokane from the College of Pharmacy with a doctorate in pharmacy. Coy graduated Saturday from Carson College of Business with a degree in hospitality. He actually graduated in 2020, but returned to Pullman to walk in the ceremony.
"It's been way too long. It's a relief," Coy said. "I could have walked last winter but I wanted to wait until May for a nice sunny day. I didn't get it, but oh well."
He currently works in Spokane at a hotel and Hovrud is moving to Seattle in June to do her residency at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care.
"It feels like a homecoming, but a very special homecoming," he said.
Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.
