Erin Baier and Jesse Birden

Michelle and Steve Baier of Newtown announce the engagement of their daughter, Erin Michelle Baier, to Jesse Sterling Birden, son of Maureen and Jay Birden, also of Newtown.

Jesse and Erin met in 2004 while both were students at Newtown High School. They have been dating for nearly eight years.

Jesse proposed to Erin on January 21, while the couple was in snowy New Hampshire. A 2014 wedding is being planned for the couple, who live in Newtown.

Erin is a 2007 graduate of Newtown High School, and received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Quinnipiac University in 2011. She is working on her master’s of arts in elementary education at Quinnipiac, and expects to graduate from the Hamden-based university in May. She is a student teacher at Reed Intermediate School, and also works part-time at Sal e Pepe Restaurant.

Jesse is a 2005 graduate of Newtown High School, and a 2010 graduate of Western Connecticut State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art.

He is a currently a graduate student at State University of New York-New Paltz, where he is working toward a master’s in sculpture. His anticipated date of graduation is 2013. He also works part-time for Holmes Fine Gardens of Sandy Hook.