Each year, fourth-year medical students from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine anxiously wait for the day to be paired with what they might consider their perfect match.
March 21 was that day.
Often viewed as one of the most important milestones in a medical student’s education, Match Day is when students discover where they will spend the next three to seven years of their educational career serving as residents in hospitals or clinics across the country.
With East Lansing activities taking place in the Kellogg Center’s Centennial Room, 35 of the 186 MSU students across the state anxiously opened their envelopes at noon to reveal their new medical destinations.
Heidi L’Esperance, a student looking to become an ear, nose and throat doctor, was joined by her husband, Pete, and was thrilled to learn she was heading to St. Louis, MO for a residency at Barnes-Jewish hospital affiliated with Washington University.
“I’m extremely happy and relieved,” she said. “Now we know where we are going to be living the next five years.”
Other MSU College of Human Medicine campuses participating in Match Day included the Upper Peninsula Region, Traverse City, Midland Region, Flint and Grand Rapids.
Match Day is celebrated across the country with thousands of medical students taking part in the event.