Tears, cheers and careers: UK Medicine students celebrate Match Day
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 24, 2025) — Match Day is a defining moment for medical students, and this year, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine proudly celebrated the achievements of the Class of 2025 as those students took their next step toward becoming practicing physicians.
Across all four UK College of Medicine campuses — Lexington, Bowling Green, Northern Kentucky and Morehead — students, families, faculty and staff gathered to share in this milestone event.
The air buzzed with excitement as the clock approached noon ET, the moment when medical students across the country simultaneously opened their letters from the National Resident Matching Program and revealed their residency placements. Inside each envelope lay the next chapter of their medical careers — the specialty and location of their residency training.
As envelopes were torn open, the gathering spaces at all four campuses erupted with cheers, laughter and tearful embraces. It was a defining moment that encapsulated years of early morning lectures, long nights of studying and countless hours spent learning how to deliver compassionate patient care.
Dean Chipper Griffith, M.D., delivered heartfelt remarks to students and families gathered at the Lexington campus.
“Wherever this journey takes you, embrace the challenges you face. The experience will be difficult, but incredibly rewarding,” he said. “Remember that your UK College of Medicine education has prepared you for this.”
The Class of 2025 had an incredible Match Day. Ninety-nine percent of the students who applied for a residency were matched with one. One hundred eight-six students secured residency placements in 23 different specialties, with 56 students matching into UK College of Medicine residency programs.
Kentuckian Matthew Hall said his interest in neurosciences started with a biology class in undergrad. It was a full circle moment when he matched in child neurology at the University of Kentucky.
“The first time as an M1 that I shadowed a child neurology clinic, I thought, ‘This is amazing. I can’t imagine that one day I might have the opportunity to do this,’” he said “Now, that day is actually here.”
Staying true to UK’s mission of serving Kentucky, approximately 40% of the graduates will continue their training here in Kentucky, helping to meet the unique health care needs of the Commonwealth’s communities.
Molly Daugherty and Zoey Knox attended Northern Kentucky University for undergraduate study together. After four years of medical school together at the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus, the duo learned that they both matched into family medicine at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, UK’s clinical partner in the region.
“To be able to stay here means everything to me,” Knox said. “It’s honestly a dream come true.”
Looking toward the future, the University of Kentucky is poised to further elevate medical education with the construction of the Michael D. Rankin MD Health Education Building. State-of-the-art classrooms, advanced simulation labs, and dedicated spaces for student and faculty engagement will provide an enriched learning environment for generations of medical students to come.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.