{"id":91606,"date":"2025-03-21T15:52:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T19:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/?p=91606"},"modified":"2025-03-24T09:20:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T13:20:26","slug":"match-day-fulfills-lifelong-dreams-for-utoledo-medical-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/03_21_2025\/match-day-fulfills-lifelong-dreams-for-utoledo-medical-students","title":{"rendered":"Match Day Fulfills Lifelong Dreams for UToledo Medical Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just after Jennifer Russell tore open the gold envelope bearing her name, out came the shirts.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d matched into the family medicine residency program at the University of Virginia, and everyone who had supported her on her journey to becoming a physician was soon to be decked out in UVA gear, courtesy of her mom.<\/p>\n

\"Teresa

Fourth-year UToledo medical student Teresa Wong reaches for her envelope during Match Day at the Stranahan Theater on Friday. The annual event is when fourth-year medical students nationwide learn where they will begin residency training in their chosen specialty after they graduate.<\/p><\/div>\n

For Russell, who came to UToledo after earning an undergraduate degree from James Madison University and a master\u2019s degree from Georgetown, matching with UVA represented both the culmination of a dream and a homecoming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw UVA, I ugly cried,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve wanted this for so, so long, and now I get to do it with my family at the school I\u2019ve dreamt of going to my entire life. It\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Charlottesville, Virginia, native was one of 167 fourth-year medical students at The University of Toledo who celebrated Match Day at the Stranahan Theater on Friday, March 21, learning where they\u2019ll begin residency training in their chosen specialty after they graduate.<\/p>\n

\u201cMedical school is challenging. You should be proud of the work you\u2019ve done to date and what you\u2019ve been able to accomplish to this point. Through your labs, lectures and clinical rotations, you\u2019ve prepared yourselves for this moment,\u201d Interim President Matt Schroeder said shortly before the clock struck noon and students collected the envelopes containing their match information. \u201cYou are in the position to make a real difference in people\u2019s lives as a graduate of The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of Match Day, students rank their top destinations, and residency program rank their top student choices. A computer algorithm administered by the National Resident Matching Program then matches students and residency programs together.<\/p>\n

It makes for a moment of excitement, anticipation and \u2014 for many \u2014 more than a little stress.<\/p>\n

The wait, however, was worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has just been a dream that she has had for as long as I can remember,\u201d said Jennifer Russell\u2019s mother, Susy Russell. \u201cShe\u2019s had on her mirror, Jennifer Russel M.D. and underneath that she had UVA on a little sticky note probably since she was in middle school. I\u2019m proud of how hard she\u2019s worked. Toledo has been a great education for her, but we\u2019re going to be very happy to have her home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander Didier, a fourth-year medical student from the Chicago area, also celebrated with his parents. With tears in his eyes, he gave each a big hug after learning he had matched in internal medicine at Northwestern University.<\/p>\n

\"Fourth-year

Fourth-year medical students Shangari Varatharajan, left, and Shivangi Sharma celebrate their residency training matches.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my dream program,\u201d he said \u201cI\u2019m so excited. It\u2019s everything to me. I feel like all of us have worked really hard for four years for this. And now for me, I get to go home, be near my family and continue my training somewhere I\u2019m really excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dilpreet Kaeley was looking forward to a homecoming of her own. A California native, she matched into anesthesiology at UC Davis.<\/p>\n

Kaeley was initially drawn to Toledo by the University\u2019s BACC2MD program, which offers an early medical school entry option to well-prepared high school students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I wanted to be a physician and was looking for pathways to get there. I did bioengineering as an undergraduate, which was amazing as a prelude to medical school,\u201d she said. \u201cToledo has been a land of opportunity for me. I\u2019ve been able to be super involved in undergrad as well as medical school and obviously it set me up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly Walker and David Allen met their match at UToledo in more ways than one.<\/p>\n

The couple met in the first few weeks of medical school, got married in October and will continue their residency training with the UToledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, with Walker matching into pathology and Allen in internal medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really liked the diagnostic side of things and I\u2019m a visual learner, so I enjoyed that a lot,\u201d Walker said. \u201cToday\u2019s been a high energy, high stress day. I\u2019m just excited to dive into what I\u2019m really passionate about and go all in on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 167 fourth-year students who matched, 19 matched into UToledo\u2019s residency program, and 71 matched with programs in Ohio.<\/p>\n

UToledo\u2019s graduates will train in a total of 23 medical specialists across 28 states. Michigan, with 19, and Illinois, with 14, were the most common destination states after Ohio.<\/p>\n