Donna Gedin

coffee date #53 with donna gedin

Dominican + Haitian, future nurse!, new york city fan, early graduate 🙂

me: coffeeee | donna: coffeeee
location: ed cafe, the college of new jersey

I’d like to thank Donna for introducing me to the Ed café. Only took me until I fully graduated from college to find the best spot on campus for a caffeine high 😭

I first met Donna last semester through TCNJ AMSA. She was our Webmaster and did a kickass job of updating our website to keep members up-to-date with all events/workshops. It was when Donna reached out to me to see if AMSA could collaborate with another student org to co-host a med school panel when I realized that we both are involved in numerous orgs on campus that allow us to explore our intersectional identities. Thus, here we are now. We don’t know much about each other, but through this coffee date, I definitely feel a tad more connected 🙂

Diving into the world of Donna Gedin ….

Epiphanies

  • career switches during undergrad

I said this before and I’ll say it again: it takes a shit ton of courage to make the decision to switch career paths and I have so much admiration for those who make that decision even when the people around them are trying to push them against making such a choice.

Donna started off as a pre-med. As she was preparing for the MCAT, she started to attend some conferences where she met amazing nurses who inspired her to pursue a nursing career instead. What I love about what Donna shared with me is that she wasn’t afraid to lean into this new passion of hers – she allowed herself to explore and see if she’s truly interested in something else.

There is way too much pressure on people in their teen/20s to figure out what to do with their lives, starting from choosing a major to gaining experience in a relevant field to following a career path. Isn’t the point of life itself to be on a constant path of exploration and curiosity?

  • love at the toll gate ❤️

Donna shared with me how her parents met and it was the cutest thing ever, so I must share it with ya’ll.

Donna’s parents met each other at a toll gate. We both agreed that people must have been way nicer back in the day because imagine meeting, greeting, and speaking to someone while you’re trying to pay your EZ pass ticket today?

Donna’s father was a toll collector at one of the locations that her aunt used to pass often. So Donna’s aunt already knew of Donna’s father since she saw him often. One day, though, her aunt and mother were driving together through that toll gate and that’s when her parents first met ☺️

I never thought that one could find love while paying their tolls, but I guess that’s the beauty of love right? We can find it in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times.

  • dating as a Gen Z

I made a Hinge profile a few months ago (which is now on pause lol b/c damn dating apps are scary) after my therapist advised me to “put myself out there more” (also, the ‘you gotta find someone soon and get married by 28’ conversations from the parents were getting out of hand, so they may have also played a tiny role lol).

While talking to Donna, I found her perspective on dating to be intriguing.

After having been in a whopping total of two relationships, I thought that instead of jumping into dating, I should maybe have a more prolonged ‘talking phase.’ According to Donna, however, there’s no need for the ‘talking stage’ to drag out for months on end. In fact, she said that she prefers the talking stage to be short and once she knows enough about her partner, the dating phase can commence.

Astonished with this fresh new perspective, I followed up with a “But don’t you want to know the person really well before you start dating?”

She essentially answered my question with “Isn’t the whole point of dating to get to know each other?” Damn. Well, yes it is.

“Anything else you wanna learn about me, we can learn in a relationship. We can learn together and grow together.” – Donna Gedin, 2024

Obviously, dating is personal to each of us and the process depends on our own perspective and feelings. I did, however, appreciate having this conversation with Donna because it kinda helped me ease up a little and not put so much pressure on the idea of romantic love. Also, I will say that though the dating app world can be scary, the fact that it moves so fast can also help with taking off some pressure.

Listen to our full conversation on dating here.

  • therapyyyy

Hi friends! I feel like I’ve preached seeking therapy for the longest time. However, there was always a part of me that felt slightly guilty for not having fully practiced what I preached.

“Take everything one step at a time. You can’t handle 10 different problems at the same time, so taking it one problem at a time will make it better for you and your mental health.” – Donna Gedin, 2024

I finally took the leap and started therapy in November of last year, and let me just say, it has been such an incredible blessing.

I do recognize that therapy is not an accessible or affordable option for many. Thus, here are a few options that I found that may work for you:

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