Jason and I met during a freshman club activity. He was handing out a stack of club flyers around campus, and I happened to be responsible for painting the promotional posters for their club. As he was distributing flyers, he accidentally tripped and fell right onto the wet paint of my poster, creating an unintended masterpiece on his shirt.

That evening, I treated Jason to dinner as an apology. He seemed to have a high tolerance for alcohol, ordering a case of beer as soon as we sat down. We drank and chatted, discussing everything from our majors to our life goals. I learned he was a top student in...