From Towson, With Love
Crystal and Tim Martin
At TU, thousands of romances have blossomed in dorm rooms, dining halls and at dance parties — no swiping right necessary.
Crystal Martin's Story
Class of 1992 | Communication
Tim doesn’t remember the first time we met. He and his mom came on campus for his scholarship interview, and through our mutual friend, I offered to take him and his mom to Tower A. We met again in the fall through the same friend. He was a nice guy, but I didn’t think anything would come of it because he was too young. He would sit with our friend group in dining hall, and, as the only guy, we teased him lot. But he was a gentleman—he’d take our trays back to the return and he’d walk me back to the dorms at night after my shift at the Rat(hskellar). He also had a CD player and good CDs, so I’d go listen to them.
He really is my best friend, even back then. I knew he was the one early on, but I thought I was too young to get married. He proposed on Dec. 28 by hiding the ring in a big box I thought had a sweater in it. I’m a dog lover—he’s not—but when he proposed, he said we could get a dog. We’ve had four since we’ve been married.
We got married Dec. 28, 1996—six years to the day he proposed. It was a morning wedding, with childhood and college friends and family in the wedding party. The weather was really good for December, and there was lots of dancing. Everyone was in a great mood, and it was my mother-in-law’s birthday too.
Our son Evan is 22; he just graduated TU in May. We already had a lot of school pride but now it’s kicked up a notch. We had a great experience, but I think Evan had an even better one.
Tim and I established a scholarship for students with learning differences or autism. It was our way of giving back to TU because Towson gave us a great education, prepared us to do well in grad school and introduced us to lifelong friends. It was a great choice for all of us.
Tim Martin's Story
Class of 1994 | Economics
I met Crystal through a mutual friend my freshman year. She was a year ahead of me. She was a part of a group of five or six friends, and I was the only guy who hung out with them regularly. We hung out more and more on our own, but I don’t remember a specific moment where someone asked out the other one. I do remember one night I told her specifically I didn’t want to be in the friend zone, that I wanted to take it to the next level. Our first date was the TGI Fridays on York Road. Now, every year around the anniversary of that date (Feb. 18), we go to dinner at a Fridays to celebrate.
We just really bonded. I could be myself with her, and we could talk about anything. We were very supportive of each other too. I missed a semester at Towson because I was in the Marine Corps Reserve and was deployed during Desert Storm. I proposed right after I got called up, during my sophomore year. I surprised everyone, including Crystal and my parents. My proposal was asking her in my parents’ house right before a family dinner. If I could, I would do that over again. I’m glad she said yes.
Our wedding was in Prince George’s County where we both grew up. We had the ceremony and reception at a Holiday Inn. We had great food and a great time with friends and family dancing and partying. I remember people were questioning, “Is this ever going to happen?” We had gotten engaged in 1990 but didn’t get married until 1996. After Desert Storm and we graduated, we both went away to different grad schools.
We have a son, Evan, who graduated from Towson in spring 2024 with a degree in sport management with a minor in business. We are very proud of him. Now we like to travel a lot and take cruises. We did a European cruise through Italy, Greece and Turkey in 2023 and just got back from a Virgin Voyages cruise. We’re also foodies. I love to barbecue, and we host parties and cookouts for our friends and family.
Crystal and Tim Martin on vacation.
Tags: Alumni, From Towson With Love