One of NDA’s newest teachers, Miranda Sendek, became engaged this fall. Sendek, an English teacher, was ecstatic about the surprise when her now fiance proposed to her the day after her birthday in September. 

“It was the day after my birthday because he decided that would be more surprising,” said Sendek. Alex Leisgang, whom she met online and discovered they had many mutual friends, proposed with a very non-traditional ring. 

“He wanted me to pick out the ring,” said Sendek. “One of our jokes had always been like ‘oh I wouldn’t care, you could propose with a ring pop.’ So, that’s what he did!”

Sendek said that Leisgang proposed as the two of them were preparing to go out for dinner that night. 

“He had purposefully emptied the cabinets out a little more so I was like ‘oh man we need to get some food,’” Sendek said. “[I was] looking, trying to find something and then I turned around, and he said ‘Hey, want to marry me?’” 

The pair had dinner and waited around an hour before calling their family and friends to tell them. 

Wedding plans are fully underway for the pair, with many of the details already in place. 

“We’ve got it planned–the venue, I’ve got my dress. It’s all ready to go, we’ve got the date set,” said Sendek. 

Sendek described getting her dress as her own personal “Say Yes to the Dress” moment. 

“That had me very excited,” said Sendek; however, she is most excited for the celebration. “I guess just the main thing is getting together with all our friends and family and the people we care about.”

After the engagement, Sendek’s ring pop was replaced with an official engagement ring. 

“It’s got the three stones here and a twisted band,” described Sendek. “It was something where when I saw it and was picking it out it almost brought me to tears. I just knew it was the right one. Something about it felt very much ‘us.’”

As for the details, Sendek and Leisgang plan to get married in Sendek’s hometown of Brillion and hope to be able to incorporate their dogs into the ceremony. 

“If anyone knows how we can get our two dogs in the wedding, we’re trying to figure out a role for both of them,” said Sendek. “We’re trying to figure out if they can be like ring bearers or act as flower girls.” 

Overall, Sendek is enjoying planning her wedding, even if the details can be a bit stressful. 

“It’s a lot of work to plan a wedding. It’s never-ending. It’s constantly trying to figure stuff out, but it’s so much fun, and he’s been a great partner in all of it.”