In 2016, Cameron Platt was the valedictorian at Princeton University. During her time at the university, Platt met her future fiance and it may not be what you think. According to the New York Post, Platt is engaged to marry her former professor, 71-year-old Lee Clark Mitchell.
Platt recently finished her master’s degree at the University of Oxford in English and United States history as a Rhodes scholar.
During her time at Princeton, Mitchell served as the chair of the university’s English Department. Platt was a student in Mitchell’s class when she was a sophomore. The connection stayed strong, as evidenced by her Facebook post.
“I was taking his lecture course on Henry James and William Faulkner. Lee was little more than a stranger to me then, but he captivated me with his brilliance, sensitivity, and passion,” Platt wrote on Facebook. “His lectures changed forever the way that I think. I was surprised to find how much I still thought of Lee — and soon I understood that I felt something for him that I’d not fully acknowledged before. At the end of my two years in Oxford, after much reflection, and with encouragement from my wonderful friends, I resolved to shoot my shot.”
Platt and Mitchell initially kept their relationship a secret before announcing their engagement. Initially, the pair went on their first date to the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan, according to the Daily Mail.
“Eventually it became impossible to deny how fully we feel meant for each other, and neither of us has looked back since,” she added. “Now here we are, more enthralled than ever, wanting no life other than one we make together. Last week, we made it official.”
Currently, Mitchell is on academic sabbatical from the university, though it is not related to his relationship with his former student. Princeton spokesman Ben Chang said that it would not be appropriate to comment on personal life outside of the university.
Congratulation to the happy couple on their big news.