'Dream come true': Hamilton student wins date with Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo

The stars have aligned in Californiafor one Grey's Anatomy and Ellen DeGeneres fan who travelled all the way from Hamilton to see some of her favourite stars.

In what has turned out to be a week fit for a movie script, Sara DeSantis went to a taping of The Ellen Show, met host Ellen DeGeneres, had a coffee date with actress Ellen Pompeo, donated more than $1,600to breast cancer research and scored VIP seats to a second taping with Kris Jenner the matriarch of DeSantis's favourite reality TV family and Chrissy Teigen.

"I can't believe this has happened," said the 22-year-old duringaphone call from L.A. "It's like a dream come true."

The post-grad student at Mohawk College says she's been watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Ellen Pompeo on Grey's Anatomy, "pretty much since they started."

She spent the majority of this year trying to get tickets to Ellen and in September, she and three friends secured their seats forMonday's taping without knowing who would be on the show.

Date auctioned for cancer research

It turns out Monday's taping not only featured Pompeo, but also gave audience members a chance to bid on a coffee date with the star, in an effort to raise funds for breast cancer research.

DeSantis, whose uncle is currently battling cancer, raised her bidding paddle and kept it up until bidding hit USD $1,200(CAD $1,665). At that point just she and one other bidder remained and DeGeneres declared both women winners.

DeSantis and the other woman, named Kelly, immediately joined Pompeo for a trip to the Starbucks on the Warner Bros.lot in Burbank, CA where they chatted with the star and no cameras while sipping green tea lattes for about half an hour.

"I was shaking. My hands were sweating," said DeSantis, adding they talked about Grey's Anatomy and politics.

Afterward, the surprises continued when an Ellen producer told DeSantis she could come back to watch another taping since she missed most of the show.

DeSantis and three friends managed to score VIP seats to Wednesday's taping with Jenner and Teigen.

"Every five minutes me and my friend look at each other and are just like, 'We were on Ellen."'