"I just know we’re going to be friends”

Their story began with a Facebook message. Long before dorm rooms and global cities and the kind of friendship you grow into like a well-worn sweater, Emily reached out to Audrey after spotting a post about her tattoo in the Minerva Class of 2021 Facebook group. The message was simple: “Hi, I’m so excited to meet you. I just know we’re going to be friends.” Years later, Audrey would pull up that message during her maid of honor speech and realize just how right Emily had been.

When they finally met in person, Audrey was a Residence Assistant in the Nob Hill residence hall, and Emily had just driven down from Alaska with her mom, bringing, in true Alaskan fashion, a van packed full of boxes. While most students arrived with a suitcase or two, Emily rolled in with what looked like a small apartment. “Audrey took one look at the mountain of boxes and thought, with real admiration, ‘Oh my god, she’s going to have the most Pinterest-worthy dorm of all time.’” From that moment on, a friendship began to bloom, steady and unhurried, built from simple exchanges of texts, shared snacks, and quiet understanding.

Throughout Minerva, their bond only grew. In the first year, they’d bring each other food without asking: bagels on low days, shared while walking down the hill from the res hall toward whatever café felt right that morning. That small, easy care deepened after Audrey visited Emily in Alaska the summer after freshman year. They spent a week camping, wandering through wilderness, dancing at a music festival, and just being girls in that carefree, jovial way you are when you’re eighteen. According to Emily, “That’s when I knew. We’re definitely best friends.” 

In Seoul, they were inseparable. They wandered through Itaewon, snuck backstage at Cirque du Soleil, and ended more nights than they can count with affogatos and cheese sticks from McDonald’s. They lived together in India and Berlin, and no matter where they landed, being together meant laughter that made your stomach hurt and the kind of joy that leaves a soft imprint on your days.

But the truth of their friendship runs deeper than memories and city maps.

Emily’s dad passed away from cancer between her first and second years. Grief has a way of hollowing out the ground beneath you, and Audrey stepped into that space without needing to be asked. Whether Emily needed quiet, distraction, or someone to cry with at 2 a.m., Audrey showed up. They got through heartbreaks, health scares, and endings of all kinds, sometimes curled up in bed, scream-singing Taylor Swift until the world stitched itself back together.

Now, post-Minerva, life looks different. They’re navigating jobs, cities, relationships, and everything adulthood throws at them. Instead of knocking on each other's doors, they’re FaceTiming between meetings, planning the next trip, and catching up on all the little life updates. When Emily got married in January, Audrey stood by her side as her maid of honor, proof that what started as a message had become something truly lifelong.

When Emily looks back on Minerva, she always returns to the people. “There was this shared sense of crazy, nerdiness, ambition, and wanderlust,” she says. “Audrey and I will always understand each other in a way no one else could because of Minerva.”

Emily’s advice to current students? Put yourself out there. Send that message. Be intentional. Friendships like this take effort, but they’re worth everything. “You won’t always be just a few doors down. You’ll have to make the time, remember the details, and show up even when life gets messy. Don’t keep score. If you love them, they love you. And that’s what lasts.”

Because sometimes, a single text really can change everything.

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If Emily & Audrey's friendship story inspired you, apply to Minerva today and start your own Minerva journey.