Future physicians celebrate milestone on Match Day

• What: Class of 2025 Match Day Ceremony
• When: Friday, March 21, 7:30-11:30 a.m.
• Where: Outside of Old Main, 1200 E. University Blvd., Tucson
• Livestream: https://satyrlivestream.com/stream/matchday2025/

At this year’s Match Day ceremony, to be held Friday, March 21, on the west side of the Old Main Building on the University of Arizona campus, 123 medical students from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson will learn where they will begin the next phase of their medical training. The event will also include an announcement of a major gift to the College of Medicine – Tucson.

On Match Day, fourth-year medical students from across the nation gather with their loved ones and open envelopes simultaneously at 9 a.m. (Arizona time) to discover where they will begin their residencies. Residency programs, which range from three to seven years, represent a critical phase in graduate medical education. During this time, new doctors practice in their chosen specialties under the supervision of experienced physicians.

For students at the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson, Match Day marks the beginning of their professional medical careers after four years of rigorous study, volunteering, research, clerkships, subinternships and clinical rotations.

In their final year of medical school, students participate in residency interviews at institutions where they hope to receive further training. They then rank their preferred residency locations, while institutions rank the students they wish to train. The National Residency Matching Program facilitates the matching process, with students committing to the residency location they are matched with.

“Match Day is a significant milestone that brings together the excitement of our medical students with the pride of our administration and faculty. This event marks the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance and the growth of a professional identity,” said Rich Amini, MD, associate dean for student affairs at the College of Medicine – Tucson. “As our students learn where they will continue their graduate medical education, we take great pride in sending them off as well-prepared graduates to programs across the country. We also eagerly anticipate welcoming many into our own residency programs, helping train the next generation of outstanding physicians within our community.”

Registration and breakfast for Match Day begin at 7:30 a.m., and the gift announcement will take place at 8 a.m. Match Day programming starts at 8:30 a.m., and at 9 a.m., students will individually gather with their supporters to open their Match Day envelopes. At 9:15 a.m., they will announce their matches publicly. Closing remarks begin at 10 a.m. 

Parking is available at a rate of $8 per car at the Tyndall Garage, located on Tyndall Avenue south of University Boulevard. There is a drop-off area for people with disabilities on University Boulevard at the flagpole west of Old Main. For more information, visit the College of Medicine – Tucson Match Day webpage.

The following College of Medicine – Tucson students are among those who will be participating in Match Day.

Curtis McGuire, MS : ‘What I’m meant to do’

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Growing up in Phoenix, Curtis McGuire, MS, had set his sights on the NFL, but by community college, he was tired of injuries and looking for a new direction. At around that time, an anesthesiologist walked into the room.

“I took my mom to cataract surgery and in walks an African American man — the anesthesiologist. He seemed to love his job.”

After graduating with a degree in kinesiology from Arizona State University, he learned about Pre-Medical Admissions Pathway (P-MAP), an intensive preparation program for students who have faced considerable obstacles.

“It was formative for me. Once medical school started, I knew how to take a physical history, how to take high-stress tests — I had done this before.”

In addition to giving him the opportunity to earn a master’s degree, P-MAP also helped McGuire adjust to medical school during the pandemic.

“When we started, we had a couple of classes in person, and then 25% of the class got COVID so they switched us back to virtual learning. It was kind of isolating, except we already had a community of P-MAP people.”

McGuire never wavered from his goal to become an anesthesiologist.

“I got to do rotations in anesthesiology. It helped me develop my true love for anesthesia, and it reaffirmed that this is what I want to do.”

McGuire cites Jerry McCoy, MD, PhD, associate professor of anesthesiology, as an influential mentor, remembering a pivotal experience in the operating room.

“The patient coded, and watching Dr. McCoy, up close and personal, save this patient’s life was life changing. I got to do compressions for the first time on a real patient. It taught me that I can stay calm in the chaos.”

He’s looking forward to celebrating Match Day with his fiancée and son, who will be 3 months old when McGuire opens his envelope. But more than anything, he’s looking forward to becoming an anesthesiologist after all these years.

“I love the one-on-one patient care. I want to enter the room and start their day on a good note, be responsible for their well-being, and get them back safely to the post-op area. Doing that every day seems like what I’m meant to do.”

Gabriela Orozco: ‘I always wanted to become a doctor’

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Growing up in Phoenix, Gabriela Orozco and her family did not have the opportunity to see a doctor because they did not have medical insurance. This lack of health care inspired Orozco to become a physician.

“It was very challenging growing up with that fear of ‘I can’t get sick, and if I do get sick, what is the financial burden that my family is going to have?’ For that reason, I always wanted to become a doctor so I could help others who have had similar experiences to mine.”

During rotations, Orozco found the perfect specialty to be able to help as many people as she could without having to ask a patient about their insurance or financial situation.

“It wasn’t until I did my emergency medicine rotation that I finally found a specialty where my goal was to just go into the room and take care of the patient the best that I could. I’ve never had to ask for their means or for their ability to pay, I just go and take care of them.”

Orozco is a first-generation college student who earned undergraduate degrees from the University of Arizona in physiology and Spanish literature. She says her physiology background was incredibly helpful during medical school.

“Some of the content I learned in medical school I had seen previously in my physiology courses. I think that just further reinforced what I had known all along and made me feel really confident about that knowledge.”

As Match Day draws closer, Orozco is excited to celebrate with family members who haven’t been able to attend an education milestone yet. Her family moved to Phoenix from Colombia when she was young, but many extended family members still live in her place of birth.

“I’m so excited because this is the first graduation where anyone from Colombia gets to be a part of the celebration. I graduated from U of A during COVID, so I didn’t have a graduation then, and my entire family still lives in Colombia, and so it’s really nice to finally get some family to come visit and be a part of this amazing moment.”

Laura Tran: ‘This dream is possible’

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For as far back as she can remember, Phoenix native Laura Tran has wanted to be a doctor, driven by her family’s experiences with the health care system.

“I’m the child of immigrant parents, and I grew up uninsured. I saw how barriers to health care extend beyond just access to basic services: language barriers, health literacy, trust in providers. I wanted to go into medicine to combat those barriers as a primary care doc — at that first line of defense.”

As a medical student, she soon found her passion in internal medicine.

“Being around the internal medicine residents, faculty and attendings, I realized those were my people. They pushed you to become a better clinician on a daily basis, and that was what I needed to thrive and grow.”

Tran says one of her most endearing memories from medical school took place in a primary care clinic where she was counseling a patient.

“Even though I was a med student, she asked if I could be her primary care provider. It was heartwarming to have someone tell me that they wanted me to do exactly what I wanted to do.”

Tran is a recipient of the Primary Care Physician Scholarship, which covers tuition for medical students who commit to practice primary care in underserved communities in Arizona.

“It made sense to apply for this scholarship, because I knew I was going to come back and serve the community that raised me.”

After completing her internal medicine residency, she hopes to return to Arizona and serve immigrant communities.

“In my training, I’ve seen the daughter or son with the parent, and they’ve been asked to translate. I see myself in them.”

She will spend Match Day with her family and loved ones, including two other College of Medicine – Tucson students: her sister, Missy Tran, a first-year medical student, and her partner, Justin Le, who is also matching. She’s especially excited to celebrate with her parents.

“Everything I am and will become is dedicated to the sacrifices of my parents. This degree represents the degrees my parents wanted but didn’t have the opportunities to attain. This degree is also a symbol for those who come from similar positions — first-gen, minority, low-income — that this dream is possible.”