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Wananga Landing
Alumni story

Annie and Javier Jarquin

10 February 2026

A UC Love Story.

Annie and Javier Jarquin met at UC in 2005 through campus clubs and societies and, 20 years on, they are still making each other laugh on the other side of the world.

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Q: When and where did you first meet at UC?
A: We first met in the UCSA building while we were rehearsing for an original musical a mutual friend had written that Musoc was producing, The Fiend.

Q: What was your first impression of each other?
A: I was brought in as a fight choreographer and had to teach the cast how to sword fight. My first impression of Annie was how adept she was at picking it up so quickly (due to her dance background). She was way better than all the males in the cast, and more attractive too.

Q: What’s one UC moment that feels like the start of your story?
A: Maybe not one moment but through working on this show together and being involved in other Musoc and Dramasoc events we really began to connect more.

Q: Did you have a first date, or an early favourite spot together?
A: Yes. For our first date we went for dinner at a Chinese restaurant called Joyful and went to watch The 40-Year-Old Virgin at Hoyts 8 on Moorhouse Avenue. Unfortunately both are gone now. But really we hung around the UCSA and the Ngaio Marsh Theatre lots at the start. We even got a seat with our names on it in there.

Q: What did UC give you both, beyond the degree?
A: We’ve still got friends from our time at UC, particularly the societies and clubs we were part of.

Q: Where are you based now, and what are you both up to these days?
A: We’ve lived in London for the last 16 years. Annie is a VP in a management consulting business where she gets to draw on her engineering degree and I am a full-time comedian where I draw on my computer science degree to a much lesser extent.

Q: What do you love most about life together these days?
A: Just the fact we’re both getting to do what we love on the other side of the world. Work hard, play hard and now that we’re in our 40s: sleep hard.

Q: Finish this sentence: “We met at UC, and now…”
A: “…we’re still together, trying to recreate the wedges they served in the UCSA cafeteria. Thanks UC!”

 

Have a UC love story to share?
We’d love to feature more stories from across our alumni community, whether it’s a romance, a friendship, or a UC moment you still laugh about. Email us at UCfoundation@canterbury.ac.nz and share a few lines (bullet points are perfect) and, if you’re happy to, include a photo or two.

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