Pritzker News
Katherine Given, MS2, gives Stephanie McCann, MD’12, a big hug on Match Day.
Jessica Beaman, MD’12, beams with joy.
Vadim Koshkin, MD’12, left, Shawn Patel, MS4, and Chidubem Iloabachie, MD’12, join in the celebration.
PHOTOS BY BRUCE POWELL
Marcus Dahlstrom, MD’12, shows off his Match Day letter.
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ties were anesthesiology (7), orthopaedic surgery (7), general surgery (6), emergency medicine (5), psychiatry (5), and diagnostic radiology (5). Students wore class T-shirts designed by Ting-Wa Wong, MD’57, PhD’70, associate professor of pathology. The whimsical drawings depict the year-byyear metamorphosis of a medical student, from a bright-eyed first-year to a newly minted MD, in turtle form. “The turtle has the reputation of being steadfast and a winner at the end. The metamorphosis into a self-assured, insightful physician is complete,” Wong said. Following brief remarks by Sharon
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O’Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center, this year’s Pritzker Chiefs — Manuel Diaz, MD’12, Grace Lee, MD’12, and Geoffrey Stetson, MD’12 — narrated a slide show, “MS12 Through the Years,” that elicited much laughter and applause. As the fateful hour approached, Joel Schwab, MD, director of medical school performance evaluation, called each student to receive his or her sealed envelope. The second-to-last student received a giant Hershey’s bar along with the envelope, while the nail-biting anxiety of the final student’s wait was eased by another tradition — collecting the small kitty that made the rounds of
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICINE AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DIVISION
classmates, faculty and staff earlier during the festivities. At precisely 11 a.m., the room’s dead silence quickly gave way to a buzz of excitement, punctuated by screams, squeals and whoops, as students opened the envelopes. “The months and weeks leading up to Match Day are filled with great anticipation, stress and excitement for the momentous occasion that occurs when each student opens his or her Match Day envelope,” Humphrey said. “As an educator, I am immensely proud. As an alumna, I still remember the moment with great clarity, and so I can empathize with our students’ emotions.”