Lights, Camera, Match Day 2025!
On March 21, in Hoehl Gallery at the Given Building on the University of Vermont campus, the Larner College of Medicine’s Class of 2025—many wearing glamorous Hollywood garments in keeping with this year’s Match Day theme, “Lights, Camera, Match!”—advanced to their next stage toward becoming fully qualified physicians. The anticipation peaked as the clock ticked closer to noon, when the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP) 2025 Main Residency Match® revealed its results to tens of thousands of aspiring physicians nationwide, announcing the locations where this year’s new doctors will start their residencies.
Out of the 108 Larner medical students participating, a noteworthy 51 were matched into primary care residencies, including internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics. These exceptional individuals scored placements in 71 different programs, with a notable cohort of 11 securing residencies at the University of Vermont Medical Center.
The long-awaited event commenced with its traditional flair, featuring Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology H. James Wallace, M.D.’88, leading the procession with bagpipes as students followed. Excitement filled the room as Larner College of Medicine Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., and Class of 2025 Student Council President Justin Henningsen delivered their reflections. After the introduction, attendees enjoyed the annual comedic skit by the Office of Medical Education, featuring plenty of Hollywood-themed antics and musical numbers.
The Larner College of Medicine’s Class of 2025
The Class of 2025 at UVM experienced the challenging backdrop of political and federal funding changes during their final year as medical students, requiring resilience to process and understand the news affecting peers, faculty, and staff at universities nationwide. Despite the atmosphere they faced, the cohort drew comfort and strength from the community built through shared challenges.
“I cannot overstate how important it was for me to have a solid community while going through medical school,” said Acton, Massachusetts, resident Vennela Pandaraboyina, who secured an internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center. “Over these past four years I have been lucky enough to form what I know will be lifelong friendships. I will be forever grateful to Larner for being the kind of institution where the respect and support of your fellow classmates are prioritized.”
Burlington, Vermont, native Katie Barker echoed Pandaraboyina’s perspective on how the strength of community solidified the ties among the Class of 2025, drawing parallels to the experience during her rotation. “My fellow classmates always helped to motivate me, support me, and inspire me, especially my flight group who I rotated with during clerkship year,” said Barker, who will begin her residency in pediatrics at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, in June. “I look forward to building a new community wherever I go and making the most of what Larner has given me, by being the best resident I can be.”
Jared Stone, from Albany, New York, also emphasized how well the collaborative environment at Larner has prepared him for his family medicine residency at Brown University/Kent Hospital in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. “The culture at Larner embodies the idea that ‘support is a verb.’ From my first anatomy session to the challenges of board exams and through every clinical rotation, I’ve always felt uplifted by incredible faculty, staff, and classmates,” he remarked. “While this next step is nerve racking, I feel ready knowing that the supportive community we’ve built here will continue to carry us through the transition.”
“From my first anatomy session to the challenges of board exams and through every clinical rotation, I’ve always felt uplifted by incredible faculty, staff, and classmates.” — Jared Stone ’25
“Larner truly prepared me for this moment from day one of medical school,” said Lexington, Massachusetts, resident Ashwini Sarathy, who will begin her residency in Bronx, New York, at Montefiore Medical Center’s Einstein Campus in June. “Our preclinical professors nurtured our curiosity, clinical faculty pushed us to think critically about our patients, and my wonderful classmates supported me along the way! I am so excited for this next chapter of training, and grateful for the foundation I built at Larner.”
“I am so excited for this next chapter of training, and grateful for the foundation I built at Larner.” — Ashwini Sarathy ’25
Justin Henningsen, from Brookings, South Dakota, shared Sarathy’s sentiment that Larner has provided a solid foundation for his obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin. “Larner provided excellent preparation for my career as a clinician. A focus on medical and scientific knowledge, social issues and humanism, and collegiality and professionalism have equipped me with the tools I need to start residency,” he reflected. “I appreciate the diversity of backgrounds and lived experiences in our student community. A variety of voices makes room for us all to grow.”
For many in the Class of 2025, Match Day was a culmination of years of hard work—and Larner student Tyler McGuire, from New Haven, Vermont, was no exception. He completed his undergraduate education with a degree in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and his decision to pursue medicine came after serving 10 years in the Marine Corps as a UH-1Y pilot. His motivation to switch career paths was multifactorial but primarily hinged on a newly found interest in the medical field and ways to engage in his local community through a medical career. McGuire transitioned from active-duty Marine Corps to the Vermont Army National Guard in 2019 and enrolled in the UVM post-baccalaureate pre-medical program before starting medical school in 2021. Medical school is where he met his partner—fellow Class of 2025 student Chellie Nayar from Altadena, California.
McGuire and Nayar participated in a couples match, which, according to the NRMP, involves linking their rank order lists for residency locations, “usually for purposes of obtaining positions in the same geographic location.” Both matched at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, with differing specialties. McGuire matched into an emergency medicine residency, while Nayar matched into a general surgery residency. “Larner gave me a strong foundation in basic and clinical science to be successful in the clinical environment and encouraged me to pursue my interests in planetary health and medical education outside of the classroom and clinic,” remarked Nayar. In residency, the pair hopes to make time to continue their shared love for outdoor adventures with their golden retriever, Frank.
Like McGuire and Nayar, Karena Nguyen from Union City, California, and Tin Nguyen from Houston, Texas, met at Larner and participated in the couples match. Soon, they will embark on a rotation in Vietnam for a global health elective, where Tin plans to work on the rehabilitation floors and Karena on the medicine floors. Both matched in Southern California with differing specialties: Karena matched into an internal medicine residency at UC San Diego Medical Center in San Diego; Tin matched into physical medicine and rehabilitation at Casa Colina Hospital in Pomona with a preliminary medicine year at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Karena, who is the first woman in her family to work in health care, appreciated Larner’s collaborative and welcoming environment. “Active learning has not only allowed me to learn from my classmates but also taught me how to teach and lead,” she said. “This has been invaluable in preparing me for my goal of pursuing medical education as a future physician.”
Several Larner Class of 2025 medical students, including those in the military and certain specialties, learned of their residency match locations through early matches outside of the main residency match. Members of UVM’s medical Class of 2025 will receive their medical degrees on Sunday, May 19; most will begin their residencies in mid-June.