Nancy & Michael

Nancy Hart ’78 and Michael Bish ’78

Nancy and Michael met at ASL as eighth graders in 1973

How did you meet? We met in September 1973 at a party hosted by classmate Lynsey Beauchamp ’78, who still remains a dear friend.

What was your first impression of Michael? What a sweet boy!

What was your first date? Listening to Stevie Wonder in my room. We were just good friends then. Our first real date was on the Santa Cruz Wharf in Santa Cruz, California, 40 years later.

How would your ASL friends and teachers describe your relationship in high school? Michael’s friends would have said that he had a huge crush on me, but I wasn’t ready to be in a relationship with him. My family returned to the US after my freshman year at ASL in 1975. Before I boarded the plane at Heathrow, I called Michael from a payphone to tell him that I loved him. He responded that he didn’t believe me, and we hung up. We didn’t talk again for 39 years, when Michael found me on Facebook. Today we are the love of each other’s lives.

What is your favorite thing about Michael? He’s a brilliant, visionary artist and writer with a tender heart.

Describe your life today. We are retired and living in Santa Cruz, CA. Michael is a prolific artist. I am the chair of the Boundless Freedom Project, a nonprofit that offers mindfulness, ethics, and compassion practices for people impacted by incarceration. Michael and I wander in Santa Cruz's natural beauty together almost every day.

Nancy and Michael were married in 2016