Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
Students in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Class of 2025 roared in unison at UMass Chan Medical School on Friday, March 21, after opening envelopes and learning where they’ll be living and training as residents. One hundred-forty UMass Chan students participated in the National Resident Matching Program, including one who matched early into urology and three early into military residencies.
“My dad inspired me and hammered in the idea of doing something you love and look forward to every day—which happens to be medicine,” said Meghan Reilly, who matched into an internal medicine pediatrics program at UMass Chan. Reilly’s right arm is adorned with tattoos that create a visual love letter to her medical school, the city of Worcester and her loved ones; two memorialize her father, Edward Reilly, who died suddenly on Jan. 8, 2021. “It was Dec. 18 when I found out I got into UMass Chan so we were able to celebrate that together. I remember him saying he could die a happy man. I felt him every step of the way during this process.”
Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
Reilly said her most impactful medical school memories were surrounded by grief and how she grew with it, recalling how five students in her anatomy group, accompanied by mentor Timothy Gibson, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, supported her during a difficult time.
Dorchester-born Alex Lo, supported by his partner Sophie; parents, William and Blanca; brothers Matt and Mikey; and his abuela who immigrated to Boston from Nicaragua, is looking forward to continuing his family medicine training at Cambridge Health Alliance, drawn to the specialty for its emphasis on community health and forming patient connections.
“Many doctors I look up to here are family medicine doctors who are doing incredible things in the Worcester community, from coordinating homeless outreach efforts to addressing food insecurity,” Lo said. “I chose UMass Chan because of its devotion to primary care education and, as someone who grew up closely connected to my family’s Boston Chinatown community, because they care for diverse communities. My time here, I can happily say, has lived up to my expectations!”
Houston-born Nicole McGuiggan will pursue psychiatry residency training at Mass General Brigham. The future psychiatrist, who lived in Germany and Finland for 12 years before moving to Boston University to study biology and English, recently spent two months in Peru to sharpen her Spanish skills.
“I’m excited to match into psychiatry because it’s an incredible field with so many opportunities to work with individuals with autism spectrum disorder,” McGuiggan said. “Someone told me that psychiatrists are the ‘artists of medicine’—which I’ve found to be true. To train in the science of psychiatry and the art of language is so exciting!”
Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
Jennifer Rossman, MBS, of Natick, is one of UMass Chan’s first graduating MD/MBA students and learned that she had matched into UMass Chan’s emergency medicine program.
“Over the course of my four years at UMass, my passion for emergency medicine grew. I love the fast-paced, dynamic nature of the specialty, variety of cases, and hands-on opportunity to perform procedures. The community of emergency medicine professionals excites me most and I’m thrilled to work with such dedicated and passionate people.”
The future emergency medicine doctor launched a real estate company, partnering with her fiancé, Noah, and her father, Mike, during her first year of medical school, citing medicine and real estate as her earliest life passions.
Demonstrating the institution’s mission to train primary care physicians, 60 students matched in internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics, representing 43 percent of the Class of 2025. Five students are pursuing residencies in otolaryngology and 11 in emergency medicine. Fulfilling the Medical School’s mission to care for the people of the commonwealth, 71 members of the class will complete some or all of their residency training in Massachusetts, including 34 staying at UMass Chan campuses.
Watch the full Match Day celebration on Facebook and YouTube.
