Community Highlight: From our love stories to yours…Happy Valentine’s Day
So many love stories begin with a simple smile – but for these four GSDM couples, a smile means much more. For this Valentine’s Day, GSDM Communications is highlighting a few heartwarming BU Dental Love stories.
Esteban Molina PROS 22, Clinical Assistant Professor of General Dentistry and Group Practice Leader for the Predoctoral Patient Treatment Center and Lea Hajjar PROS 22
Dating since 2020
When Esteban Molina arrived at GSDM in 2019 for his applicant interview, he didn’t anticipate that he would also meet his future girlfriend that day.
During his interview day, Molina was introduced to some of the first-year PROS residents – including Lea Hajjar. Hajjar made a notable impression on Molina, as he said he vividly remembered her being “very kind and nice.”
“I didn’t know if I was going to get accepted, but then I wouldn’t have thought that person that I met during my interview would [have] ended up becoming such an important person in my life,” Molina said.
The initial lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic helped bring the couple together, Molina said. Molina and Hajjar, along with other colleagues and classmates, supported each other and bonded during quarantine. Slowly, the friendship turned into a relationship.
Now, more than two years into their relationship, Molina said he is appreciative of her never-ending guidance and patience, from the days of helping each other successfully complete the prosthodontics program to the present day.
“I’m so glad I met her, and I met her here. [She] made my time in Boston so much better,” Molina said. “And with all the struggles and the pandemic and everything, [it] definitely was a very high point to have that support and to have met her. She’s an amazing person. I love her so much.”
Hajjar said she is excited to see what the future has in store for the couple as they transition out of residency and into the next stages of their life.
“Esteban has taught me so much first as a friend, then as a co-resident, and more recently as a partner,” Hajjar said. “I am forever grateful to have met him when I did. He has been my rock through it all and I cannot imagine what the last years would have been without him.”
Melina Roncone DMD 23 and Michael Roncone DMD 23
Together since 2019, Married since 2022
It was fate that the first person Michael Roncone met in Boston would later become his wife.
According to Michael, he met his wife-to-be, Melina, in 2018, two months before they both started a pre-dental Masters of Oral Health Sciences program.
“We both attended the housing fair and toured the BU Medical Campus together,” Michael said. “Little did we know!”
They began as friends, but something changed after the first semester of their master’s program, Melina said. Once their schedules got a bit lighter, they were able to interact in more social settings, leading to their first kiss after a night out with fellow friends in the program.
“After [our first kiss], I knew I was a goner, he would either make me the happiest I’ve ever been or break my heart,” Melina said.
Even at the start of the relationship, Michael knew there was something magical about Melina.
“There was something that always drew me towards Melina even from our days in the OHS master’s program, and if you know us today, it’s still the exact same way,” Michael said. “If you spot Melina, I’m usually not far behind.”
When it was time to propose, Michael said he carried the ring with him for a month until he could find the right moment to pop the question. Then, during a visit to Melina’s family in Sarasota, Florida, the sun, beach breeze, and dolphins playing in the ocean created the perfect timing.
“It seemed as if it was out of a movie,” Melina said.
The couple both expressed how thankful they were to experience dental school together.
“I honestly think Michael and I were meant to meet eventually. He’s my best friend, but if it weren’t for our passion for dentistry and our professional careers lining up so perfectly, we wouldn’t have met so soon,” Melina said. “As student dentists, we are always assisting each other in clinic and have been each other’s greatest support system in dental school.”
After graduating from GSDM in May, the pair will move to Buffalo, New York, where they both matched to a general practice residency program that starts in June.
“We have big plans for our future,” Melina said. “BU Dental and Boston will always have a special place in our hearts!”
Drew Czernick PERIO 14 and Marissa Kobewka DMD 15
Together since 2013, Married since 2018
It takes two to make a thing go right – and Drew Czernick and Marissa Kobewka can verify that.
The pair met for the “first” time twice, Czernick said. They technically ate dinner together in 2011 at an event hosted by GSDM alums at the restaurant Fire and Ice but sat on opposite sides of the table and didn’t interact.
Later that same year, Kobewka started her periodontics clinical. Her instructor, Joseph Morcos, introduced her to his co-resident, who was also teaching the clinical component – Czernick. The rest is history.
“He ended up teaching at the bay beside me,” Kobewka said.
Czernick said there isn’t one particular moment that made him realize Kobewka was the one – he just always knew.
“I kind of always felt like Marissa was going to be the girl I married from the first time we met,” Czernick said.
In a sweet parallel to how they met, Czernick proposed twice: once while still at GSDM and the other post-graduation.
“When we were still in school, we couldn’t afford to do anything fancy, so I made Marissa breakfast in bed and proposed to her there,” he said. “Once we graduated, I upgraded her engagement ring and planned a private dinner and glamping on the roof top of the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills.”
Czernick said he’s thankful that he is sharing his life journey with a fellow dentist.
“I think being married to another dentist is great because we understand the struggles that each other goes through,” Czernick said. “We can empathize with the other after a long day and talk about strategies to make things better for our patients.”
Nowadays, they have one big priority – caring for their two-and-a-half-month-old son, Anderson Wells Kobewka Czernick.
Derrik Johnson DMD 09 and Shannan Johnson DMD 09
Together since 2008, Married since 2010
On the first day of dental school, Derrik Johnson complimented a classmate’s coat – to which she rolled her eyes, walked away and did not talk to him again for a whole year. This is the story Derrik Johnson tells about how he first met his future wife, Shannan (Feeley) Johnson, although he said she would dispute some of the details.
One story the pair can agree on: Their first date involved a football-related bet and an unexpected fancy sit-down meal.
“[We] started dating in 2008, after I finally wore her down to go on a date with me. We made a bet on the Super Bowl, and when the Patriots lost, she had to take me out for dinner,” Derrik said. “I’ve been kind of a Giants fan ever since.”
Since Shannan owed Derrik a dinner, she decided to bring him to get “the best salad in Boston.”
“Unknowingly, she chose a very fancy restaurant on Newbury Street, white tablecloths, waiters in suits, etc. and they sat us at the nicest table next to a fireplace,” Derrik said. “I thought she was really into me. She later told me that she had no idea it was fancy and that she was really embarrassed the entire time thinking I was getting the wrong impression.”
About six months into his relationship with Shannan, Derrik saw his best friends at a wedding and couldn’t stop talking to them about Shannan – that’s when he realized she was “the one.”
“They all told me I’d never talked about a girl like that before. On the flight home, I knew,” Derrik said. “I told her I loved her for the first time that night.”
Derrik said it makes a big difference having the same career passion as his spouse, as they understand the stresses of the profession. He could not imagine being in the dental field now without her.
“We’ll be forever grateful to BU for bringing us together,” Derrik said. “And I’m quite certain we’re the greatest love story BU has ever told.”