From residence to romance: an HCS love story
Prab Singh Sekkon proposes to his girlfriend, Gurneet Singh, in her first-year residence room at Bates. Photo by William Dang.
In 2011, first-year McMaster student Prab Singh Sekkon knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with fellow Mac student Gurneet Singh. The pair had been friends since high school, and Prab often found himself hanging out with Gurneet in Bates Residence.
One evening, the pair were in her residence room getting ready to go out with friends, when Prab unexpectedly got down on one knee and confessed his feelings to her. He was certain that she was the one for him. Although they weren’t yet dating, Prab promised Gurneet that one day he would bring her back to that very spot and propose for real.
Recently, Prab asked Housing & Conference Services (HCS) to help him recreate that moment in Bates, and somehow get Gurneet to her first-year residence room without suspecting a thing. The plan came together with the groom-to-be suggesting a campus date night, starting with Willy Dog hot dogs followed by an evening walk through McMaster’s beautiful campus.
At that point, the couple would come across a sign for a Bates Residence Open House with HCS staff inside posing as tour guides. They would escort the couple to Gurneet’s old room, which had been prepared earlier that day with flowers, photographs and chocolate-covered strawberries (complements of Hospitality Services). Then with the ring in hand, Prab would ask a very important question.
Overcome with emotion, Gurneet’s surprise could be heard down the hall, while the HCS team waited to capture their special evening on campus. A teary-eyed Gurneet came out of the room a few minutes later, with an expression that said it all; between the excitement and surprise, Prab had fulfilled his promise and then some.
The happy couple are now planning the next stage of their lives together.
