On what could be described as a perfect Houston weather day, nearly 200 Baylor College of Medicine medical students opened one of the most important envelopes of their lives – their residency match.

Match Day is the culmination of the annual National Resident Matching Program, which pairs fourth-year medical students with residency programs across the U.S. After earning a medical degree, physicians train for another three to seven years as residents.

Dr. Paul Klotman, Baylor’s president, CEO and executive dean, said it’s called Match Day, not “Selection Day” because the future doctors are paired with programs that want exactly what they have to offer.

“Where you go doesn’t matter as much as how well you do wherever you go,” Klotman said. “You’re better trained than anyone else in the country. You represent Baylor College of Medicine forever, and you should wear it with pride.”

Starting at 11 a.m., students quickly found their envelope on the Match Day board, pulled it down and carried it close to their heart to open with loved ones. Seconds pass before joy erupts from small groups across the courtyard at main Baylor as future doctors learn where they will further train.

David McDonald matched into the Leaders Evaluating and Addressing Disparities (LEAD) Pediatric Residency Program at Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital for pediatrics, and he couldn’t stop jumping and shouting when he found out.

“I love the program here; love the culture of the program here; all my family is here,” McDonald said. “I see myself as a Houstonian, and I can’t wait to serve the community here through being a pediatrician.”

A Houston native, McDonald said healthcare is a calling that was reaffirmed during his training at Baylor. He hopes to see kids grow up to be as healthy and successful as possible.

For some, the envelope can cause a feeling of disbelief.

Nathaniel Moss matched into his first choice, University of Washington, for psychiatry. Through tears, Moss explained feeling overwhelmed in a good way.

“It’s my No. 1, and I honestly didn’t think I would be able to match there,” he said. “There were a lot of points along the way where I didn’t (believe I would make it).”

Match Day is one opportunity for the families of medical students to visit Baylor’s campus and see where their loved one has been studying, collaborating, learning and working for four years.

Houston native Jennifer Onwukwe could not stop smiling with her family after opening her envelope which showed she matched in internal medicine at Baylor.

With her support system in the city and wonderful faculty and residents to learn from, Onwukwe could not imagine having to leave Houston to train. And now, she doesn’t have to.

Even for students who move to Houston for medical school, Baylor feels like home. For Thomas Bini, he started making connections with Baylor faculty as a premed college student. Bini matched into Baylor’s anesthesiology residency program.

“Baylor just felt like my home; it felt like I was really embraced by the faculty, by teachers and friends I made,” Bini said. “The anesthesiology department is fantastic with amazing mentors, as well. One of my mentors in anesthesiology actually interviewed me coming into Baylor as a premed, so building that connection and those relationships (has made the difference).”

Minutes before 11 a.m., class of 2025 president Adel Hassan gave a short speech to hype up the momentous occasion.

Hassan called his classmates each “amazing with their own unique strengths,” which include compassion, confidence, knowledge, dexterity and the ability to explain complicated ideas to patients.

No matter where anyone matched, their future patients have only one hope, he said. “They’re hoping for one thing, to get the best doctor possible, and that doctor will be you.”

Match Day 2025 results

• 194 students
  • 70 students will begin their residencies in the primary care fields of family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, medicine / pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology or emergency medicine
  • 47 students matched with residency programs at Baylor College of Medicine
  • 83 students matched with residency programs in Texas

By Julie Garcia