Match Day 2025 at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine was nothing short of a spectacle. Friends and family filled the Maurice J. Stone, MD, Commons to capacity, while classmates and peers lined the balconies above, eager to witness the life-changing moment unfold. Among those with a bird’s-eye view were members of the Board of Visitors, who joined in the excitement as envelopes were torn open and futures revealed.
At 11:55 am, just five minutes before students nationwide would discover where they matched, Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, the Marjorie Joy Katz Dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, stepped onto the podium in the Commons. Her energy was palpable as she welcomed students and families at both the North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s campuses. The latter, in Bethlehem, hosted its second Match Day celebration, connected via live feed.
Dr. Goldberg admitted she was “a little more emotional” this year—it was, after all, her first graduating class as dean, having been appointed interim dean ahead of the 2021–2022 academic year.
“In this moment and beyond, here’s what I want you to remember,” she told them. “First, we are immensely proud of you—truly, incredibly Temple proud. Secondly, wherever you match is exactly where you are meant to be. Every program, every institution, every mentor, every patient will shape you in ways you cannot yet imagine.”
As the digital clock behind her neared noon, Dr. Goldberg led the countdown. Then, a moment of quiet, quickly replaced by cheers, tears, and the rustling of envelopes being opened—some carefully, others in a flurry.
Reactions ran the gamut: elation, surprise, relief, and quiet joy.
The Commons came alive in waves. First, celebrations within tight family circles. Then, students ventured out to find their classmates, taking group photos, holding signs announcing their matches, and posing in twos, threes, and fives while proud loved ones snapped photos.
Match Day is the penultimate milestone for a medical student, leaving only commencement. It is also one of the most emotionally charged. In an instant, a monthslong process comes to a head, and students can learn they’ll need to move across the country within a matter of months.
The 2025 Main Residency Match was the largest in the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP) 73-year history. A record 47,208 applicants submitted certified rank order lists, competing for 43,237 positions—up from 41,503 in 2024, which had been the previous record. At the Katz School, 195 students matched in 24 specialties, with three entering a transitional year. The most popular fields were internal medicine (41), general surgery (21), family medicine (17), and pediatrics (16).
As envelopes were opened and cheers rang out, brief but powerful moments unfolded throughout the crowd—hugs, tears, and the kind of joy that comes only after months of uncertainty. For students like Nicki Karimi-Mostowfi, Alexis Wright-Spadaro, and Maddy Good, those first few seconds brought a mix of deep emotion, relief, and, soon after, celebration.
Paths with purpose
Karimi-Mostowfi introduced herself to Daniel Kotas, a classmate, on the first day of their orientation because she thought he was cute. They started dating three weeks later. Not long after that, they were inseparable. Kotas proposed in September, and Karimi-Mostowfi accepted.
Without knowing where they’ll be for the next few years, they booked a wedding venue in Southern California, where Karimi-Mostowfi is from. They’ll be married on May 30, 2026. At least that much is certain.
This winter, they targeted regions that would suit both of their ambitions, with Karimi-Mostowfi planning to go into neurology and Kotas internal medicine. The couple openly and enthusiastically discussed their engagement during their residency interviews. But there were just so many possibilities, and some of them could force them apart for the foreseeable future.
The thought caused Karimi-Mostowfi to sleep restlessly all week. Kotas remained her rock. But even he was rattled by the tide of adrenaline that swept through the Medical Education & Research Building the morning of March 21.
When the countdown hit “one,” Karimi-Mostowfi revealed her match with a quickness that surprised Kotas, who was still opening his envelope. Months of careful planning and relentless worrying came down to the next few seconds. And then, in an instant, it was all over.
They’re both headed to Los Angeles, Karimi-Mostowfi to UCLA Health and Kotas to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Karimi-Mostowfi says Los Angeles was their top choice. She’s particularly excited to be within a couple of hours of her parents after five years away.
Alexis Wright-Spadaro did a month-long rotation at another institution two months prior to the start of the application cycle, which she says helped her determine what she wanted from a general surgery residency program. She got married two weeks before starting medical school, so finding a community that her husband would feel at home in was just as important to her as the residency program itself. As a result, she says she concerned herself less with public perception and focused instead on inclusive programs that “welcome families.”
But she didn’t let her ambitions take a backseat. On the contrary, they seemed to come into focus during this process. “I hope to be a trauma surgeon or a surgical oncologist, and I really want to add a palliative care component to my practice,” says Wright-Spadaro, who refined her search accordingly.
She matched in general surgery with the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, her first choice.
Maddy Good, whose family resides in Jenkintown, says that staying close to home was her top priority when she was deciding where to apply. Ultimately, she interviewed with 10 obstetrics and gynecology residency programs, all of them located in and around Greater Philadelphia, and matched with Temple University Hospital (TUH), her first choice.
Good is one of 24 Katz students from the Class of 2025 who matched at TUH across a range of specialties—a reflection of the strong alignment between Temple’s mission to serve underserved populations and students’ desire to train at an institution dedicated to meaningful service and a patient-centered approach to care.
“With my and my partner’s families close by, it was really nice to have that support system during medical school,” she says. “And I think it’s going to be even more important during residency.”
Support comes from every direction
One Match Day moment stands out most to Good. Just after opening her envelope, she found Stacey Jeronis, MD, FACOG, FACS, the Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences Residency Program Director at TUH, among the crowd in the commons. She was with some of her residents. Together, they congratulated Good and welcomed her, affirming for Good that she is exactly where she belongs.
Karimi-Mostowfi and Kotas say they committed to their respective specialties largely because of the encouraging faculty, fellows, and residents they encountered during their rotations in those fields.
“I know that Temple’s clinical training is amazing because I’ve been able to compare it with friends’ experiences at other med schools,” Karimi-Mostowfi says. “But it’s the people who really set this school apart. It’s such a supportive environment. I feel like everyone genuinely wants to see you succeed.”
Wright-Spadaro says, to her surprise, her professional goals evolved over the last four years. She entered the Katz School thinking she’d go into primary care because that’s where she felt she, as a Black woman, could have the greatest impact on minority health outcomes. But during her third year, Wright-Spadaro discovered that surgery felt like the best fit for her because she thrived in high-acuity, fast-paced medical scenarios, and she was adept at working with her hands.
While she was always open to new possibilities, Wright-Spadaro was comforted and, eventually, emboldened by her classmates’ and the faculty’s encouragement of her ability and exploration.
“I was supported no matter how I evolved,” she says. “And because of that, I was able to have the tough conversations with myself and life partner.”
Experience the excitement! Enjoy our Match Day 2025 video on YouTube.