Shay and DJ met in their first quarter of naturopathic medical school. Four months into medical school, Shay's grandmother (Nana) Gwen passed away from a long battle with Alzheimer's. This was devastating for Shay. During a busy time with Shay's first round of final exams coming up, she was having to make a decision to postpone her tests, or continue. She took a few days off of school and grieved. She did not get out of bed for about 2 days. DJ, noticing Shay was not in class (since he purposely sat in front of her), found Shay's phone number off of the cohort roster, and sent her a text. He gave her his condolences and asked if he could come to her apartment and bring her a "Teta Bag." Every couple months DJ's grandmother, "Teta" sent him tons of homemade food including spinach pies, jams, fresh herbs, hummus, fresh baked bread, and grape leaves. A "Teta Bag" is a generously sized bag of these delicious homemade foods. Shay read the text and responded to him saying that she appreciated his thoughtfulness and kind gesture, but that she felt too depressed and hadn't gotten out of bed, so felt it best for him to not come over. DJ then said something to the effect of "I think you should get out of bed and get ready, because your Nana would have wanted you to, but either way I can leave it outside for you, because you should eat." Shay immediately jumped out of bed, took a shower, got ready, and responded back to him with, "you're right, you can come over." When she met him at the door he came with loads of her favorite foods. It was as if he somehow knew she loved hummus and grape leaves. They sat on the couch in Shay's living room and talked for hours. They bonded over Middle Eastern food and family values. After this, the two were inseparable. They became best friends and did absolutely everything together. They leaned on each other all through medical school, which was one of the hardest and most rewarding times of their lives. After a few years, it became apparent that they were more than best friends, they were lifelong companions. DJ asked Shay to marry him on 12/14/22 while she was visiting Pittsburgh at Phipp's Conservatory. Although Shay had a feeling he was going to pop the question, and despite her attempts at trying to get him to tell her, DJ totally caught her off guard and surprised her when he finally asked. Once Shay saw the ring, DJ revealed that he had designed Shay's engagement ring and wedding band with her Nana in mind, incorporating Amethyst and Alexandrite in Nana's honor. Shay loves DJ because he is incredibly kind and thoughtful, has an ability to keep her calm, and spoils her with great meals because of his awesome cooking skills. DJ loves Shay because she pushes him to be a better person, keeps him laughing with her great sense of humor, and is always up for new experiences.