An Ongoing Conversation
A U-M med
student and his
college sweetheart
plan a life
together helping
the less fortunate.
Melissa Moskof and
Adam Dorfinan
WEDDING DATE:
May 3, 1998
HONEYMOON:
San Francisco and the
Napa Valley
Adam Dorfman and Melissa Moskof Happy together.
FINAL DESTINATION: (1--
Boston
JULIE EDGAR
News Editor
I
t was more obvious to other
members in their student group
at Yale that something was per-
colating between them.
During discussions among the par-
ticipants — Reform Jewish students
— Adam Dorfman and Melissa
Moskof were always leaning toward
each other, engaged in their own tan-
gential conversation.
But it took them almost six more
months to acknowledge that some-
thing special was going on between
them.
On May 3, the couple will wed in a
ceremony in Melissa's hometown,
Washington, D.C. The rabbi under
whom she became bat mitzvah will
perform the ceremony.
Adam, a West Bloomfield native
4/17
1998
54
and fourth-year medical student at
University of Michigan, just landed a
residency in pediatric cardiology at
Boston's Children's Hospital. Melissa,
a senior analyst at a consulting firm in
D.C., plans to get a consulting job in
Boston and eventually obtain a mas-
ter's degree in business administration.
She hopes to start a non-profit organi-
zation that focuses on education for
underprivileged children.
Their interest in the betterment of
life for children is a commonality
Melissa points to when talking about
their relationship.
"I think we both have an interest
— and this sounds corny — in figur-
ing out how to make the world a bet-
ter place. He's into research into how
to help sick children, and eventually I
would like to start a non-profit deal-
ing somehow with education. I think
we love children and we're figuring
out how to help children who were
not as fortunate as we were and need
extra assistance," she explained.
Adam was in his sophomore year at
Yale when he met Melissa, a freshman,
in the campus's Reform Jewish student
group. A friendship turned into a
romance, but upon Adam's graduation
in 1994 and his acceptance to the
University of Michigan, they took a
wait-and-see attitude.
"When he graduated, I was left
behind. That was the hardest year we
made it through. Although it changed
our relationship, being physically dis-
tant, we still really cared for each
other, and that's when I started think-
ing this was definitely something spe-
cial," Melissa said.
Since Adam moved to Ann Arbor,
the couple sees each other every 1-2
months, either there or in
Washington.
"I don't know if it'll be as hard as
learning to live together in the same
house," Melissa laughed, "but we've
gotten used to it by now."
During a wintry day in their fifth
year together, Adam proposed to
Melissa during a walk in Ann Arbor's
Arboretum.
"All the trees were covered in snow
and it was very quiet except for the
sound of some kids playing and sled-
ding. I found a quiet spot in the snow,
dropped on one knee, told Melissa I
had an anniversary present for her and
asked her to marry me. She said 'yes'
before she even took a look to see
what was in the box. It was a ring, of
course," Adam recalled.
After the wedding, the pair will
head to San Francisco and the Napa
Valley for a few weeks to tour the
vineyards, hike and bike. II