Medical student Lonna Gordon talks about her Match Day hopes....

The waiting is almost over. The crowd has all packed into Skipper's Smokehouse - medical  students, their husbands, wives, parents, even a few babies.

The air hums with expectation.

Soon they will know. And they will celebrate the next stage in their lives on the long journey to becoming a doctor.

"This has just been a long day in coming," says student Jessica Keshishian. "It sort of symbolizes the culmination of everything."

Even if the news isn't what they want to hear.

But soon they will know.

Over 57 years, Match Day has become a quirky tradition at medical schools across the country. On the same day, nearly 30,000 young people find out whether they will receive graduate medical training in the program of their choice.

All at once, they will know: their hopes fulfilled or their dreams crushed.

***
Jonathan and Jessica Kesheshian talk about the couples match...

It's Wednesday, and in one more day, they will know.

"It's a mixed emotion of being excited and being nervous," says student Lonna Gordon. "You worry about, ‘Did I make the right decision?'...But it's out of my hands. It's in God's hands at this point."

Gordon is seeking a residency in pediatrics. She's waiting to see whether she'll get her top choice, the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston. She loves the history of the city and the closeness to the beach. Next on the list: Orlando Health, Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, and USF.

By now, most students know they have matched somewhere . The question is whether it's where they want to be. Each year, a few days before Match Day, the students who haven't matched to a program are told in advance, giving them a few days to "scramble" for the open spots in residency programs around the country.

Everyone is thinking about it, but talking about it can be awkward.

"It's a very public thing, but at the same time, it's a very private thing," Gordon says. "Some people don't want to say where their top choice is."

For Jessica and Jonathan Keshishian, the anxiety is doubled. They're the only married couple in the class, so they're seeking two spots in the same program: USF, the University of Florida, or Orlando Health.

"The match is scary," Jessica says.

Jonathan jokes that he has no worries. Jessica is so smart, he says, that he can go anywhere.

"I love being couples matched to her," he says. "Anywhere I want to go will be like, ‘Oh,yeah, you can come, just because we want your wife.' "

***
The Day arrives for Jonathan and Jessica...

The day arrives, and the waiting is almost done. Student Jason Jennings is shooting for the stars. He wants to go into orthopedics, which has become one of the nation's most popular specialties. And his first choice is Duke, one of the nation's top programs. Jennings didn't set out to pick a competitive specialty; he was a physical therapist before med school, so it was a natural choice.

Now, at Skipper's, he's philosophical.

"You just do what you can do, and everything will take care of itself," he said.

On the other side of Skipper's, Jessica Keshishian can't stand it anymore.

"Some schools go out to dinner, and everyone opens up their envelopes at the same time," she said. "This is nerve-racking, one by one."

It's about to get worse.

Finally, it begins. Dr. Stephen Klasko, dean of the USF College of Medicine and CEO of USF Health, welcomes them all, and tells them they're the best class ever. President Judy Genshaft congratulates them.

The envelopes start going out.  One to a student wearing this T-shirt: "Trust me, I'm a doctor." Students find out they're heading to USF, Brown, Cedars-Sinai. Still, the Keshishians, Lonna Gordon, Jason Jennings, all are waiting.

One woman jumps up and down with glee. "Honey, we can buy the house," a woman calls out, when she sees she's going to USF.

Then it's the Keshishians. They open their envelopes together.

"You're stuck with us another three years!" Jessica yells. They're staying at USF.

Emory, UCSF, USF again. Finally, Dr. Steven Specter, associate dean of student affairs, calls out: Jason Jennings. Jennings reads the envelope.

Then he smiles as he tells the crowd: Orthopedics...Duke.

Then another student to USF, then Wake Forest. It's Gordon's turn.

"Orlando Health," she tells the crowd.

It's her second choice, but she claps her hands as she walks back to her family. Her mother gives her balloons and flowers. Hugs all around.

Lonna embraces her future as a medical doctor...

It's all over, and there are pictures and photos and more hugs. "It was great," Jennings says.

Jessica Keshishian can't stop smiling.

"We got exactly what we wanted," she grins.

Now they know.

- Story by Lisa Greene, USF Health Communications
- Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications
- Slide Show Production by Klaus Herdocia, USF Health Communications

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