Just Married! Bergen-Passaic Couple Met In Grad School

Sara Marie Brandsema and John David Handal were married March 2 at St. Aedan’s Church on the campus of St. Peter’s University in Jersey City.

Sara Brandsema and John David Handal were married March 2. The pair met in 2011 and their parents both live in Totowa.
Photo Credit: *Sara Brandsema Facebook*

Cecilia Levine

03/05/2018 8:00 a.m.

Brandsema is from River Edge and Handal is from Totowa.

The pair met at Rutgers University in Newark in 2011, from where Brandesma received a master’s degree in global affairs and the groom received a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in global affairs.

The bride is 31 and works as a philanthropy and partnerships officer at the International Rescue Committee in New York City, generating resources to benefit refugees and displaced populations. She graduated from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore.

She is the daughter of Donna M. Brandsema and Bruce K. Brandsema of Totowa.

The groom is 33 and is an academic program manager at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, where he manages the daily operations of several graduate programs.

He is the son of Vida M. Handal and Samir H. Handal of Totowa.

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