Match Day: futures revealed for medical school graduates

Friday, March 16, 2018
Match Day: futures revealed for medical school graduates
Medical school graduates around the country are learning where the next several years of their lives will take them.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The future of 5 UCSF Fresno medical graduates is being hand delivered to them in envelopes.

On this Friday, they'll find out where they're doing their medical training for the next 3 to 7 years.

But when the rest of your life comes down to one moment, even minutes seems like an eternity, especially for future doctor, Angel Mendoza.

"Hopefully I'll match somewhere I want to be and hopefully I'll end up at a great place," said Mendoza.

Every March, medical graduates across the nation discover what the next chapter will hold through "match day."

"If you want to be a pediatrician, you apply to a bunch of programs, you interview at the programs and then you rank them and they rank you across the entire nation," said UCSF Fresno Assistant Dean Dr. Kenny Banh.

As the clock ticks closer to zero, nerves are at an all-time high.

When time is up, the envelopes are opened.

Mendoza is going to UC Davis, and that's good news for him and his family. "They wanted me to be close by and I want to be close to them, so they are excited for me."

Others like Anthony Lim get to stay even closer. "I got my number one choice, I got UCSF Fresno and I'm incredibly humbled to be here and surrounded by everyone who's been supporting us."

No matter where they go they're now one step closer to changing the world, one person at a time.

"In the future, I plan to work in underserved communities, something that mirrors what I grew up in," said Mendoza.