34 | MARCH 16 • 2023 

S

ometimes when a Jewish mother 
wants her daughter to meet some 
nice Jewish boys, she’ll urge her 
to mingle with some big Jewish group. 
But all she really needs to meet is that 
one special person … 
Take Alison Wick. She’d attended an 
all-girls high school and was “in heaven” 
meeting “all those lovely boys” at the 
University of Sheffield in the UK when 
she enrolled in 1985. 
“I was having a great time!” the 
London native remembered. 
Alison’s mother read the writing on 
the wall and urged Alison to go to Hillel 
(the Jewish society on campus) to “meet 
a nice Jewish boy.” Alison balked. She 
was already meeting plenty of boys, 
thank you very much, and didn’t want 
to go somewhere she wouldn’t know 
anyone. 
“Just go once,” her mother said. “For 
me. What have you got to lose?” 
Grudgingly, nervously, Alison finally 
turned up at Hillel one Friday night 
near the beginning of her second year. 
She quickly noticed a “tall, strapping 

rugby player in a black leather jacket.” 
He noticed her, too, immediately headed 
over and stuck like glue by her side for 
the rest of the night.
Her clothing may have helped her 
stand out in the crowd. “I was wearing a 
very distinct outfit,” Alison said. “A blue 
V-neck sweater and tartan blue pants. It 
was fashionable at the time! I probably 
looked a bit silly, but I guess he liked it.” 
After the Hillel dinner, the two 
headed to a disco at the student union 
and “the boy” immediately scored more 
points by buying Alison and all her 
friends a round of drinks. 
Knowing how pleased she would be, 
Alison immediately sat down to write 
her mother a letter. She wrote, “I met a 
nice guy… His name’s David Schwartz 
— I think he’s Jewish.” (With a name 
like that, it’s a wonder that she included 
the words ‘I think!’) 
Dave grew up in a small Jewish 

community about 150 miles from 
London, called Cardiff, which is the 
capital of Wales. (Yes, same place 
that William and Kate are prince and 
princess of, if you follow British royalty.) 
“It’s highly unlikely we would have 
come across each other if we hadn’t met 
at Hillel,” Alison said. 
They married in May 1989. 
“I never went to another Hillel event 
after that. I found my husband, that was 
it for me!” Alison laughed. “My mother 
was very happy, too!” 
Some years after they were married, 
Dave was working for a computer 
consultancy company that did a lot of 
work with the automotive industry. 
In 1998, he was working on a project 
with Ford, which bought the family to 
Detroit for a “two-year project” — and 
they’ve been here ever since. Now Dave 
works for Ford and Alison works in 
public relations for CKC Agency. The 
Schwartzes live in West Bloomfield and 
are members of Adat Shalom Synagogue.
Alison and Dave are parents 
to Michael, 28, William, 25, and 
Teddy, 19. And you can bet your toasty 
crumpets that they enjoy telling their 
story to their sons and reminding them 
that all it takes is “just one meeting” to 
find the love of your life! 

 

This column will appear biweekly. If you’d like to 

share your “meet-cute” story, please email 

burstynwithjoy@hotmail.com.

OUR COMMUNITY
HOW WE MET
‘Just 
 One Nice 
Jewish Boy’

ROCHEL BURSTYN 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A recent pic 
of the happy 
couple

ABOVE: A photo from Dave and Alison’s engagement party and wedding. RIGHT: Dave and 
Alison Schwartz, with sons Michael, 28, William, 25, and Teddy, 19.

