Man Proposes to Girlfriend with a Piece of Cheese Next to Dumpster: ‘Everything About This Day Was Perfect’

A cheesy love story!

Nine years ago on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, first-year student Maithili Appalwar asked out her crush, Yash Punjabi, on a date “in the cheesiest way possible — by writing it on a piece of cheese,” she recalled on Instagram in a November 2024 engagement announcement post.

“18-year-old me wasn’t really thinking of this as my proposal location, so I did it right next to a dumpster,” Appalwar remembered about the January 2015 moment outside of Smith Residence Hall.

Appalwar, an industrial engineering major, and Punjabi, a computer science major, continued dating before they graduated from Georgia Tech, completed their MBAs at Wharton in Philadelphia and moved to India to start their careers in the industrial packaging industry.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Then, they recently returned to Georgia Tech, where Punjabi surprised Appalwar with a cheesy — and fitting — marriage proposal. 

“We did everything we loved doing when we were undergrads, including sneaking into the football stadium,” she explained. “At the end of the walk, Yash took me to the same dumpster, and asked me to MARRY HIM by writing it on a piece of cheese.”

The campus visit “was all part of Yash’s plan to surprise the love of his life 💍💛,” the Georgia Tech LinkedIn page wrote alongside a photo of the happy couple posing with the university’s yellow jacket mascot Buzz, who was on hand to witness the proposal. 

Appalwar proclaimed it is “every over-enthusiastic alum’s dream” for Buzz to show up for important student events or alumni milestones. 

“Everything about this day was perfect — the walk, our families and friends being there to celebrate after, and Buzz showing up,” she concluded.