Match Day 2024: UF Students & US Med School Grads Celebrate Residencies

With Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” playing in the background, medical students across the nation, including 151 at the University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine, learned their residency placements on Friday, March 21, 2025, in a process known as Match Day.

Megan Rizer, a fourth-year medical student at UF, matched into a pediatrics residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio. “It’s just where I wanted to be,” Rizer said, expressing her excitement about learning to treat different diseases and build relationships with patients.

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) coordinates the matching process, which involves months of applications and interviews culminating in the delivery of sealed letters to students at noon. UF Interim Dean Jennifer Hunt, M.D., M.Ed., emphasized to the graduating class that each student would find themselves in the “right place at the right time,” drawing a parallel to a recent experience she and UF Health President and CEO Stephen Motew, M.D., M.H.A., had while intervening in a medical emergency during travel.

Iverson Williams, another UF medical student, matched in general surgery at the University of Florida, where he also completed his undergraduate degree. His parents, Olga and Iver Williams, expressed their joy, noting their relief that he would remain relatively close to home in Gainesville. “Our hearts are about to burst,” Olga Williams said.

This year’s Match Day ceremony at UF took place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, commonly known as “The Swamp,” the university’s football stadium. The location contrasted with the usual academic setting, instead offering a venue more associated with the university’s athletic achievements, including national championships in both football and basketball. The event was described as a “love fest” with students expressing gratitude to spouses, partners, family, faculty, and advisors.

Across the country, thousands of students participated in Match Day, experiencing similar emotions of joy and relief, according to Medscape Medical News. The culmination of years of study and preparation, Match Day marks a significant transition for medical school graduates as they embark on the next phase of their medical training.