By Patrick Broadwater, Ellen Goldbaum and Dirk Hoffman

“Today, dreams are realized, futures are shaped, and the culmination of years of hard work and dedication is celebrated,” said Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, UB’s vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in her welcome address to the crowd of students, family, faculty and friends.

“Your potential knows no bounds, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for each of you.”

Brashear also pointed out that as the 169 medical students eagerly waited to learn their residency destinations, they were not alone.

“You are surrounded by the support of your families and friends, whose love and encouragement have been your steadfast companions throughout your medical journeys.”

David A. Milling, MD, executive director of the Office of Medical Education and senior associate dean for medical education, announced each of the students in attendance as faculty and school leadership passed out envelopes containing the match results.

Milling then led a 10-second countdown and at noon the students simultaneously opened their envelopes to find out where in the U.S. they will be spending the next few years of their training as physicians.

Alyssa Reese matched into a plastic surgery residency at Eastern Virginia Medical Center in Norfolk.

“I’m really excited, I’m really lucky to match into such a competitive specialty,” she said. 

Asked about how she feels about heading to Virginia, the Rochester native who also earned her undergrad degree at UB says she’s looking forward to it. She did a rotation in Virginia and is happy to be headed back there. 

“It’s been a wild ride, a rollercoaster, a lot of ups, a lot of downs, but it was all worth it in the end,” said Kelsey Gibson, who matched with her first choice, pediatrics at New York Presbyterian Hospital. “I’m here with my family and my best friends, so to come together abd to have such an amazing outcome, it was worth the whole journey.” 

Shelley Verma matched into a primary care track in medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital/University of Rochester.

The Syracuse native said she was elated to be moving a bit closer to home. She is also proud to be pursuing primary care.

“I want to develop better skills to prevent disease in my patients,” Verma said.

Jake Zipp, a Williamsville native, attended UB as an undergrad, enrolled in the Jacobs School for medical school, and is one of three generalist scholars who will be doing their residency in family medicine at UB.

“Doing the General Scholars program, I kind of knew I was coming here, so I was not as nervous as everybody else, but still opening the letter is a cool experience,” he said. “I’m really glad to be staying here. I love the city. I don’t see any reason to leave.”

The Jacobs School continued its strong tradition of retaining graduates to stay in Buffalo for their advanced training

In all, 27 percent of the class — 45 students — have chosen to stay at the Jacobs School for their residencies..

“We see this as a testament to their dedication to our community, the City of Good Neighbors, and their dedication to contributing to our robust health care systems,” Brashear said.

“By continuing their training in Western New York, these future physicians directly contribute to improving health care access and addressing gaps in care delivery, especially for underserved communities.”

Among the specialties that have the most matches from the UB class are: internal medicine (seven), psychiatry (five), family medicine (four), internal medicine - prelim (four), pediatrics (4) and med-peds (3).

This year’s class included 2 MD/PhD, 1 MD/MBA, 1 MD/MPH and 2 MD/OMFS dual-degree students.

For Jelyn Cruz Eustaquio, Match Day was like a dream.

The Philippines native matched with Brown University for a residency in anesthesiology with a first-year internship here in Buffalo.

That was the ideal scenario for Eustaquio, engaged to an endodontist, whose Western New York contract expires next year.

“Next year, we will go to Rhode Island together,” she said. “I matched in the advanced program, so my first year at UB and my last three years will be at Brown.

“It’s like a dream come true to go to an Ivy League school, but it was also a dream come true for me to go to a SUNY school for medical school. This is the best that I could have hoped for.”

Eustaquio’s unique journey into medicine began well after she moved to the United States as an 18-year-old. After witnessing health scares affecting her mother and sister, she was inspired by the doctors who provided their care to change careers and pursue a degree in medicine.

She eventually ended up at the Jacobs School, where she felt she could receive personalized attention and mentorship. She credits that guidance with helping her land a competitive Tylenol Care Future Scholarship in 2021, one of only 10 health professions students nationwide to win the top $10,000 prize.

“When I interviewed at UB, I was amazed by the building — it was brand new at that time — but it was really the people I met on the interviews that guided me here. I have no regrets. I am so happy I ended up here because it has gotten me where I wanted to be.”

“When I moved here, I had no idea I would end up on this journey I get really emotional when I talk about this, because I’m going to be the first person in my family to be a doctor and this is really huge for me. The barriers, the challenges, when I look back, those pushed me to where I am. But I think it’s the people along the way that really got me where I am — being inspired by the people around me and a lot of the exposures that I had.”

Eustaquio, who lived for a time in Connecticut, is excited to head back to New England for her residency at Brown. But she’s also thankful for the opportunity to spend another year in Buffalo.

“I’m so grateful I’m going to end up working with people I already know at UB for the first year. I think it’s going to be an easier transition into residency, knowing that I’m familiar with the rotation and the people.”

The only hiccup in Eustquio’s day was a brief moment when she wasn’t able to get her envelope open.

“I couldn’t rip the envelope and I realized I don’t know how to use a letter opener,” she joked. “At that moment, I just closed my eyes and I could feel my heart pumping. I was scared but I couldn’t wait any longer to see where I was going.”

After tearing into the envelope, she got a good look into what was in store for her in the future while taking a moment to consider where she has been.

“Everyone in this room felt the same way — you work so hard for the past four years, this is a testament to all the work we’ve put in. I’m really proud of everyone here. It’s an amazing feeling. I know it will be hard — residency will be hard — but it’s a new chapter and every story has a positive and a negative and this is a moment of the positive. You have to celebrate it.”

“I’m ready to take on whatever anesthesiology has for me. I’m really excited!”

Engaged couple Kirsten Frauens and John Ciarletta each matched at Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester.

Frauens, a Rochester native, matched in physical medicine, while Ciarletta, originally from Long Island, matched in neurology.

“We’re going together, so I am good with that,” says Ciarletta. “I’m just very grateful for all the people that help you get to this point. It’s definitely a big milestone, and it’s a mix of excitement and fear of the unknown, but at the end of the day you just have to be grateful for how you got here and all the people that helped you.”

The couple met as first-year medical students and have been inseparable ever since. They’re planning to get married a week after graduating from UB.

“Neither of us thought we were going to end up in Buffalo for med school, but we did,” Frauens says. “We met each other early on and ended up getting engaged, and now we’re getting married. Everything worked out.”

“Coming to UB was the best decision I ever made,” Ciarletta says. “It was life-changing for the better.”

Fourth-year medical students are listed below with their future medical specialties and the locations of their residency matches.