EDINBURG — Fourth-year students with the UTRGV School of Medicine Class of 2022 gathered on the campus’ Troxel Lawn eagerly awaiting the moment they’d been working toward since they first entered the medical school — when they’d read their letters from the National Resident Matching Program and learn the residency program they’ve been matched with.
The event was part of Match Day, the third for the medical school, and the first for Dr. Michael B. Hocker, the school’s dean and senior vice president for UT Health RGV.
“Match Day, no matter what school you’re at, it’s always exciting,” Hocker said. “To be the dean representing these just incredible students is a great opportunity for me. I couldn’t be more proud of these students. They’re some of the best and brightest in Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.”
Match Day is celebrated nationally on the third Friday of March. On this Friday, 51 UTRGV students participated in the event, taking their last steps before graduating from medical school.
“It’s really a benchmark of how well we’re doing as a medical school when we look at the students who don’t stay here and where they’re going,” Hocker said. “There are several students here that matched in some of the most difficult residencies that there are to match in. They’re going to just top universities across the country including Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory — just some of the top training programs in the U.S. and top specialties.”
Shortly before the envelopes bearing the designated residencies were handed out, Dr. Stanley Fisch, associate dean for student affairs, addressed the students and their families.
“You have something called ‘Readiness for Residency’ coming up in a few weeks,” Fisch said. “Well actually today, right now, this is a preliminary test. We’re going to see if we can test your frontal lobe function. We’re going to pass out the envelopes and ask you not to open them. Not yet. Not until I tell you to.”
Soon after, the students gathered in front of the stage to collect their envelopes. The students hugged and cheered, becoming overwhelmed with excitement as they awaited their respective envelopes.
After the students returned to their seats, Fisch began a countdown for the students to finally open their envelopes revealing where they’d been accepted.
As Fisch reached one, he called out, “Open the envelopes,” as confetti cannons went off. Soon, jubilant cheers and screams of joy could be heard over festive music as more students learned about their upcoming residences.
Among those students was Adriana Saavedra-Simmons of Edinburg. The 2011 Edinburg Economedes High graduate matched with the internal medicine program at Massachusetts General-Harvard.
“I just feel overwhelmed,” Saavedra-Simmons, a first generation college graduate, said after the ceremony. “It’s been a long road. Being able to make it to this moment and getting into a top program — I’m just overwhelmed and thankful for this opportunity to learn and grow.”
Saavedra-Simmons said that she aspires to become a hematologist and oncologist and provide cancer care to Valley residents.
For Saavedra-Simmons, the moment was made much sweeter when she learned that her friend, Unyime-Abasi Christopher Eyobio, had matched with the exact same residency. The two friends hugged and shed tears of joy at the realization that they’d be continuing their journey in medicine together.
“It’s really been an amazing journey to just be together,” Saavedra-Simmons said. “We give God all the glory for this.”
For Ronkino McCoy of Malden, Missouri, his journey in medicine began with a seven-and-a-half-year stint in the Army as a combat medic, including a tour in Iraq from 2010 to 2011. He said that his interest in medicine began before his military service. He will now be continuing his career in medicine at the University of Tennessee at Memphis in its urology program.
“I always had an interest in medicine, I just didn’t know how to get where I’m at now,” McCoy said. “The military allowed me to get my foot in the door in medicine. That’s kind of how I started. Throughout my time in the military, I kind of figured out the path I needed to take to become a physician.”
McCoy described his transition from the military to a fulltime student as difficult and a big decision; however he said that he knew that he needed to be where he was Friday morning at UTRGV on Match Day.
As he celebrated with his fellow medical students, McCoy offered some advice for future medical students.
“It really is going to be a roller coaster. It’s going to be a marathon,” McCoy said. “Just commit to it, and keep that dream in mind. Every day that you wake up, keep it in mind and you’ll get there. You’ll wake up one day and you’ll be here on Match Day.”
To see more, view Monitor photojournalist Joel Martinez’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: UTRGV med school students celebrate residency Match Day with jubilation
