BY EMILIO LANERA

Monash Engineering student Tim Herzog stopped many on their way to class as he bent down on one knee at Clayton Campus to propose to his girlfriend, Tamara De Losa last week.

Ms De Losa said yes.

In a bid to collect pictures of the moment from bystanders and to let everyone in on his happiness, Mr Herzog posted on Monash Stalkerspace, and it quickly collected about 10,000 likes and more than 1200 comments.

The proposal took place outside Hargrave-Andrew Library (HAL), where it all began for the couple.

Ms De Losa said she suspected her boyfriend was going to propose soon but still was delighted when Mr Herzog proposed outside of HAL

“I had a feeling something was up ... but even thinking I was slightly prepared for it didn’t help,” Ms De Losa said.

“I don’t think anything can really prepare you for your boyfriend dropping to one knee,” she said

Mr Herzog and Ms De Losa both said they were surprised by the response on social media.

“My hope was that random people might have taken a few photos and posted them online ... I didn’t even consider all the memes that would come out of it,” Mr Herzog said.

“I must admit it has been very overwhelming as we are usually quite private people, but it has also been very entertaining watching the memes come through,” Ms De Losa said.

“We have been contacted by Monash Uni social media, the Monash library social media, and they’ve all put up posts on Instagram and Facebook which are receiving quite a lot of attention as well," said Mr Herzog.

Mr Herzog said while he and Ms De Losa have enjoyed the attention they are looking forward to all of this passing.

“It’s been fun ... but we are sure it is going to die down soon and we’ll be happy with that,” he said.

Despite the immense online support, the couple said they are quite happy to stay out of the limelight.

“Engineers are the future from behind the scenes. We’re happy with being behind the scenes,” Mr Herzog said.

The lovebirds first met at an engineering open day in 2015 where they were introduced by a mutual friend. Over time the two got closer and began dating at the start of 2018, after being friends for about three years.

Mr Herzog said he was not expecting to find the love of his life at the university but was glad he did.

“I came mainly with the intention to study I didn’t think I was going to find somebody here at uni,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms De Losa said she did hope to meet someone while at university but did not expect things to turn out so well

“This has been better than I could have hoped for. Friends for years before taking the next step ... and studying together has honestly made it so much easier,” she said.

Both of them will be graduating this year and then do their PhDs, and plan to fit in marriage somewhere along the way.