PLATTSBURGH — Getting a guy to notice you isn’t always easy. You’re shy. He’s shy. What do you do?
Renata Fromme, who got noticed and to the altar, got help from the Federation. At least in the form of a Lake Placid Star Trek Club member.
Here’s the data:
Renata, 18, of Queens, first met Jean-Marc Di Battista, 21, of Montreal, in a summer library-skills class at Plattsburgh State. They were randomly tossed together as partners in a homework assignment, but Library 101 left them in the Neutral Zone.
In the fall they were, by chance, in the same public speaking class. Their teacher, Kathleen Duley, was scheduled to host a pledge break at the Mountain Lake PBS station. She decided to make the trip a prime
directive for everyone in the class.
Most students manned the phones, taking pledge calls, including Renata. From where she sat, she had a good view of Jean-Marc, filling in as a volunteer camera operator. (He hopes to go into broadcast news. She’s majoring in hotel and restaurant management.) Renata said she was attracted by his sense of humor. “And , to be honest, that French accent.”
By the end of the day she knew she wanted to see more of him. But his hailing frequencies weren’t open.
“I was too shy,” Jean-Marc admitted. “I noticed she was looking at me, but it didn’t click.”
At the end of the day, the volunteers, which included members of the Star Trek club, went to the International House of Pancakes.
Renata confided in Trekker Cynthia Merrick.
Merrick decided to boldly go. She came right out and said: “I think she’s attracted to you.”
The rest is history.
Jean-Marc showed Renata around Montreal. They visited her parents in Queens. She picked out a wedding dress.
They fell in love in a matter of two months, Renata said.
She doesn’t think they got there at warp speed.
“I don’t think we’re rushing,” she said just before the wedding.
“Most couples go through an awkward period, but we cut right through that. The timing seems right.”
Because they didn’t have a church in common, and they didn’t like the idea of a courthouse wedding, they
decided to get married where their attraction took hold: at the Mountain Lake PBS station.
“And it was a great way to get a free video of the wedding.”
The management of Mountain Lake PBS said it hopes the couple’s example will encourage others to discover the benefits of volunteering at the station.
Renata certainly understands them. She always dreamed of being a bride.
Saturday, Jean-Marc made it so.
First published in the Press Republican, Plattsburgh, NY
