By Bob Thomas
FSU College of Medicine

Maxx Harrell’s clear vision for the perfect ending to graduation day from the Florida State University College of Medicine would include an affirmative response to a life-changing question, sealed with a kiss.

With the iconic Westcott Fountain providing a most-fitting backdrop, Lexi Michas accepted Harrell’s marriage proposal; their kiss and celebratory embrace cementing May 16, 2026, as a date that won’t be forgotten.

“Graduation was awesome, but it was not the most stressful event of the day,” Harrell explained. “That was trying to make sure that everything went according to plan, and it still got to be a surprise.”

Mission accomplished.

“I was completely surprised,” said Michas, a third-year Medical College of Georgia student at its regional clinical campus in Thomasville. “I was not expecting it to be at his graduation, right there at the fountain when we were taking pictures.”

Not surprised were the couple’s parents. Both Rick and Linda Lee Harrell and Dr. Andrew Michas and his wife, Francie, were supportive co-conspirators in the surprise plans.

“When we walked outside [Westcott Hall] and I asked Lexi to go find us a good place to take a picture in front of the fountain, I hung back and my mom slipped me the ring.” Maxx explained. “I put it in my pocket under the robe. … I already had told her dad and mom, ‘Hey, I'm going to ask you take a picture with us in front of the fountain, one of you is going to have to start messing up with the camera.’ … I'll tell Lexi, ‘I need you to go help them, since it’s your camera.’

“That's when I sprang into action and got down on one knee, so whenever she turned around, I was there and proposed.”

“I will definitely look at Westcott Fountain differently now,” Lexi said.

Though the couple didn’t meet until 2024, they share layered connections to FSU. Harrell and Michas were undergraduates with degrees in exercise physiology and neuroscience, respectively, but never knowingly crossed paths on the Tallahassee campus.

“We're walking past each other like every other day based on what our classes were and our schedules were,” Michas said. “I was trying to think, ‘Did we ever walk past each other?’”

Maxx was a third-year student at the Pensacola Regional Campus when they went on their first date; Lexi was visiting her grandmother in Fort Walton Beach, her father’s hometown. Dr. Michas, a practicing OB/GYN in Albany, Georgia, completed his undergraduate studies at FSU and stayed in Tallahassee as a member of the 1993 Program in Medical Sciences (PIMS) class before completing his M.D. at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

He completed his residency at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women in Orlando – now Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and  Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, two hospitals joined by a two-story connector – on the same campus where Harrell will begin orthopedic surgery residency at Orlando Health Regional Medical Center.

“That’s really cool,” said Lexi, who was rooting for Maxx to match in Orlando, where she hopes to join him as a family medicine resident following her 2028 graduation.

“That’s the timeline we're working on, just so she has some time to study Step 2 and then planning the wedding,” Maxx said. “Then it will line up better with our schedules.”

Harrell’s path to medicine was not linear. The Marianna, Florida, native explored careers in accounting and pharmacy before Hurricane Michael’s 2018 direct hit on his hometown changed his trajectory.

“It completely devastated Marianna,” Maxx said. “My dad was the water and wastewater superintendent for the city, and they lost water at the hospital. He was telling me they need needed volunteers, so I started volunteering in the ER. 

“That's where I fell in love with medicine. What really drives it home for me is the community impact that you can have, particularly in rural underserved areas. That kind of ties into the whole orthopedics thing, because Marianna needs a full-time orthopedic surgeon and the ability to go back there and set up a practice … I'd be able to have a tremendous impact.”

Photo captions:

Top: Lexi Michas and Maxx Harrell celebrating Match Day, after he matched in orthopedic surgery at Orlando Health Regional Medical Center. 

Inset: Maxx Harrell plants a kiss on Lexi Michas in front of the Westcott Fountain, following the successful surprise engagement following the May 16 FSU College of Medicine Commencement Ceremony. (Photo by Colin Hackley)