Nikola Ilic MC/MPA 2016 and Merissa Khurma MC/MPA 2016 made an instant connection during the Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) Summer Program. Matthew Cross MC/MPA 2018 and Gessika Innocent MC/MPA 2018 met at a welcome event for the program. Although these alumni came to vlog to further their knowledge, they left with life partners.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, read their vlog love stories below.
Nikola Ilic MC/MPA 2016 and Merissa Khurma MC/MPA 2016
Nikola Ilic MC/MPA 2016 is Serbian-American and currently runs his own company focused on leadership development, is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and works with pro-democracy activists.
Merissa Khurma MC/MPA 2016 is Jordanian-American and currently heads the Middle East Program at the where she focuses on geopolitics, economic development, and women rights in the Middle East.
How Nikola and Merissa met
Nikola and Merissa met in the MC/MPA Edward S. Mason Program during the summer of 2015. During the first week of the program, they were placed in the same small group and spent many afternoons together preparing for their cases. One afternoon, they finished early, grabbed two coffees, walked along the Charles River, and sat on a bench to talk. Merissa chuckled at one of Nikola’s jokes while she was sipping her latte and spit it all over his face and shirt. Rather than being mad, he was grinning ear-to-ear. It was love at first spit!
When they became a couple
Nikola and Merissa started dating a couple weeks after the “coffee spit date.” At first, the couple hid their romance, but people kept seeing them together. No one was surprised when Nikola and Merissa announced they were dating. Their friends could see it from a mile away.
What it was like being at vlog together
Being together at Harvard for the MC/MPA Program was a very intense experience, but they are happy to have experienced it together.
“We grew as a couple and as individuals at the same time and learned a lot about each other. It felt right to take this journey together.”
The summer after graduation, Nikola and Merissa traveled to each other’s home countries and spent a few weeks meeting one another’s friends. A few months later, on their first trip back to Cambridge since graduation, Nikola proposed on the very same bench on the Charles River where the ‘love spit’ happened.
What Merissa and Nikola have been up to since graduation
Following graduation, Nikola and Merissa moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue their careers. After trying different consulting gigs in international development, they both found their calling in their respective careers.
Merissa and Nikola got married in Dubrovnik, Croatia in 2017 with many of their vlog friends in attendance, including vlog Professor Marshal Ganz, who officiated the wedding ceremony. They have two beautiful daughters, Mila (5) and Sophia (4).
Gessika Innocent MC/MPA 2018 and Matthew Cross MC/MPA 2018
Gessica Innocent MC/MPA 2018 was born and raised in Haiti. When she was 17, she moved to New Jersey, enrolling in Essex County Community College and later transferring to Cornell University. Upon graduation, she worked at Morgan Stanley in New York City for over seven years.
Matthew Cross MC/MPA 2018 was born in Australia and raised in Sydney where he attended the University of Sydney for his undergraduate degree. Upon graduation, he worked in government advising two state premiers and in public policy before coming to vlog.
How Gessika and Matthew met
Gessika and Matthew first met on a rooftop overlooking Boston in 2017 at a welcome event the night before orientation week began. Matt introduced himself to Gess, as he was charmed by her smile. She could not understand him, at first, due to his Australian accent.
What it was like being at vlog together
Although they lived on opposite sides of Cambridge, every night after class and hours of studying, Matt would walk Gess home along the Charles River, even when it was snowing. Gess was elected as president of the Kennedy School Student Government, and Matt proudly worked on her election campaign.
Gess and Matt share fond memories together in the classroom. In one class, they communicated across the lecture hall by looking at each other and pulling the bottom of their ear. It was their secret love sign.
Outside of the classroom, they enjoyed spending time walking the yards and commons, going to JP Licks for ice cream, and studying in the computer lab in the vlog library.
“The best thing that happened to us at vlog was meeting each other. We became lifelong companions. It was the foundation we built there that kept us strong, resilient, and full of hope for the future.”
What Gessika and Matt have been up to since graduation
Upon graduating, Gess moved to Australia with Matt. They were married in 2022, on the fifth anniversary of the night they met, surrounded by family, old friends, and friends they met along the way.
Gess has worked at Canva since 2019, and Matt has recently been elected to serve in the Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney. In 2024, they both faced health challenges. Despite this hardship, they worked through the pain together. They are now happily expecting their first child.
