Temple students celebrate Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is Feb. 14 and students are happy to be spreading the love.

Trey Serrano, left, a freshman music education major, and Nicole Hom, right, a freshman flute performance major, talk about their plans for Valentine’s Day while eating in the Student Center food court on Feb.13. | SARA CATELLI / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Although she’s not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day, Leah Marzilli is looking forward to celebrating the holiday while in a relationship for the first time. 

“I’ve never really – aside from last year – been in an official relationship and celebrated with someone that I really liked and enjoyed being with, so I am excited for it this year,” said Marzilli, a sophomore global studies major.

This Valentine’s Day Temple University students are excited to celebrate near campus because they want to let their friends, family and significant others know how much they are loved. Students are celebrating the holiday by going on dates, visiting family and cooking meals with loved ones. 

Marzilli plans to go to Le Cat Café in Brewerytown with her boyfriend of roughly a year to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The couple went to the same cafe last year as friends for Marzilli’s birthday and for their six-month anniversary as a couple because Marzilli likes cats. 

“It’s something we’ve always done for special milestones in our relationship,” Marzilli said. 

Nicole Hom and her boyfriend, Trey Serrano, celebrated Valentine’s Day early on Feb. 12 by staying inside and unwinding after a busy week, watching the cartoon television series Futurama together. 

“It’s been a long week, so we figured it’d just be nice to chill out,” said Serrano, a freshman music education major. 

For Hom and Serrano, being in a relationship makes a huge difference in the way they feel about Valentine’s Day. When they were single, it felt like a fake holiday, but now that they are together, it’s a great way to spend time with each other and express how much they care about each other. 

The two met and started chatting through the Class of 2025 Facebook page. They grew closer after joining the Temple University Diamond Marching Band this year, where Serrano plays trumpet and Hom plays flute. 

Instead of going out, Gia Dalessandro and her boyfriend Tyler Gagilardi, a sophomore engineering major, plan to spend the night cooking together because the holiday falls on a weeknight. 

“We’re not big cookers, but tomorrow we are,” said Dalessandro, a freshman biology major. 

Even if Claire Cronin doesn’t have a date, she enjoys celebrating love on Valentine’s Day. This year, she’s planning to bake and watch movies with her friends for a delayed Galentine’s Day on Wednesday or Thursday. 

“It’s cool, February kind of sucks, so it’s good to put a fun, lovey holiday in there,” said Cronin, a sophomore communications major. 

Alix Testa is spending her Valentine’s Day selling roses in the Howard Gittis Student Center to raise money for Pinky Swear Foundation, a charity that fundraises for families with children who have cancer. 

“It helps out a bunch of the families and then, also, everybody likes getting roses,” said Testa, a junior biology major. 

After selling roses, she plans to hang out with her friends and eat chocolate-covered strawberries. 

Gabriella Velasquez, a freshman theater major, is visiting her family in South Philadelphia and bringing them Valentine’s gifts. Although she does not typically do much to celebrate, she loves the idea of Valentine’s Day.  

“I think it’s nice to show appreciation for the people that you love, and it just makes you think a little bit more like, to say, ‘Oh, I love you,’” she added. 

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