Thanks to Meredith (Nass) Donchez, CCAS BA ’93, and Ron Donchez, GWSB BBA ’92, for sharing their story!
Ron and I met at GW in 1991. Ron was a junior and I was a sophomore. Ron was a business school undergrad while I was an undergrad in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. His major was International Business and Economics while mine was Psychology. We met through mutual friends and our first date was at The Red Lion over a pitcher of beer. We talked about life, our backgrounds, and our dreams until the bar closed. We both knew we met our match that night.
Ron was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA and I was born and raised in Riverdale, New York. We dated for the remainder of our years at GW and enjoyed every moment of the life we shared at school in the glorious city. When Ron graduated and I had one semester left, we remained a couple and made the long distance relationship work. When I graduated, we moved back to New York City and I began to work in the fashion industry for Liz Claiborne. Ron began his career at Saks Fifth Avenue in the financial planning department.
In 1994, Ron and I got engaged while visiting Ron’s family in Pennsylvania. The first night at the Red Lion was the beginning of what was sure to be our destiny. We were between jobs and had the time to do a bit of traveling so we spent time in Italy where Ron’s parents were on business for a few years. We traveled throughout Italy and visited some GW friends who were back home in Switzerland. We all had a mini GW reunion in Lugano and it was a magical evening.
In 1995, Ron and I married at The Union League Club in New York City. Many GW friends attended and the best man and bridesmaids were all GW grads and dear friends. We all built a life in New York City after graduation.
A few years later, I ‘retired’ from my job as Account Executive at Calvin Klein while Ron was working at Coach as VP of product development. A baby boy, our first child, was born in 1999. I became a full-time mother while Ron continued with his career. Another son was born in 2001 and a daughter in 2003. In 2007, Ron left his job to start his own business and put his business school education to work. The business is successful and continues to thrive in New York City.
We circled back to GW this past summer visiting colleges for that first born son. We had been back to DC for weddings of our alumni friends and family trips but THIS was different. Visiting GW and doing a campus tour for prospective students made us nostalgic and joyful in a way we have never experienced before. How could we be back on GW’s campus with our children now being old enough to begin their college experience? It was a beautiful and sentimental few days. Seeing the growth of the university and the city in all its splendor made me want to go back to college and fall in love with Ron all over again.
Thank you, GW. Thank you.
