In August 2019, Dr. Dana Pearl Dobrowski, a first-year dental school student, joined “Dígame Bienvenidos,” a four-day pre-orientation program at Columbia University, which introduced incoming medical and dental students to the history and culture of Washington Heights, the Manhattan neighborhood where the schools are located.
She quickly found herself in conversation with Dr. Cristian Jeorge Peña, who was about to start medical school. They conversed over their love of squished face dogs, Mexican food and The New York Times Crossword, which they’d solve together once classes started.
They often studied together when their first-year lectures overlapped. “She probably wanted to actually study with me,” Dr. Peña said. “I just wanted to spend time with her.”
After seeing each other consistently as friends and study partners, Dr. Peña asked Dr. Dobrowski on a formal date in October 2019 to Penny Jo’s, a cocktail bar in Washington Heights.
“I remember dressing a little nicer, because with Cristian everything was casual and comfortable,” she said. “I just remember feeling a little tingly in my stomach.” Not long after that date, they became exclusive, seeing each other two to four times a week.
In March 2020, as the pandemic began, their academic programs went remote. Dr. Dobrowski invited Dr. Peña to join her at her family’s beach house in Long Branch, N.J., saying it would be a peaceful retreat for the two of them from the city. He moved in on March 28.
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