MINEOLA, NY — A pair of medical students from Long Island are more than planning for their professional future, they are beginning their lives together.

Katie Goldrick, who grew up in Wantagh, and Tony Asfour, originally from Lebanon, became the first students at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine in Mineola to enroll for Match Day and get matched to the same residency programs.

“The fact that we were able to match with the same program for us was just fantastic,” Goldrick told Patch.

They met in a class with just 22 other students, “so we all got to know each other pretty well the first year,” Asfour told Patch.

An empty seat to start their medical journey led to their pair’s unbreakable bond.

“I’m like a pretty shy person. I try to sneak in and sit down without having to socialize,” he said. “The only seat that was available was the next to Katie.”

“We sat next to each other every day and I think we slowly began to realize how silly we both have been by not realizing exactly what we were looking for was right there, literally right there,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful way to meet your significant other.”

Goldrick’s specialty is anesthesiology, while Asfour is working toward becoming OB-GYN.

Watch the full “Patch Weekly Spotlight” interview below.