By Laura Ingles and Grace McOmber

On Friday, March 21, the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine’s M.D. Class of 2025 gathered at the National theater with friends, family, faculty and staff in anticipation of their residency match results. Before counting down to the big moment of opening their envelopes together, Arturo Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine, addressed the buzzing crowd to congratulate and thank the students and their supporters. Leaning into the Hollywood theme of the celebration, Saavedra introduced himself — with a convincing accent — as Spanish actor Antonio Banderas.

“The dean expresses his sad condolences for not being here, so I will do the honors to say, what a beautiful day,” he said, to chuckling applause, adding that 99% of graduating students matched into residency programs. Saavedra went on to share that more than a quarter of the graduating class will stay in Virginia for their training, with 32 of those students having matched at VCU.

As the clock inched closer to noon, students individually received their envelopes and stationed themselves among the crowd with their loved ones. After a short countdown, the roomful of future physicians ripped into the envelopes containing the culmination of all their hard work.

Mehtab Khara, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Mehtab Khara matched into the PM&R residency program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. (Arda Athman, VCU School of Medicine)

When Mehtab Khara reflects on the Class of 2025, he sees a motivated group of “go-getters,” not only in terms of academics, but also in building lasting connections with their classmates.

“I think a lot of the folks here have come to develop really great relationships and know each other super well,” Khara said. “Our class knows what we want, and we go for it.”

Over the past four years, Khara has served as the athletic representative for the Class of 2025. In this role, he organizes sporting activities, like pickleball games and kickball tournaments, to help build community and promote wellness among the class.

“Sports, especially team sports, is one of the best ways to relieve stress,” Khara said. “It's really rewarding to see my classmates be able to blow off steam by getting outside and playing a game after a hard exam. It’s a way for me to serve my peers.”

Khara matched into the physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residency program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and said he is excited to translate the skills he learns into community outreach and advocacy.

“The beauty of PM&R is that we get to work on a team with a bunch of other health care specialists,” Khara said. “I’m excited to help my patients in the clinic but also promote health in the greater community.”

Ashley Le-Pham, Family Medicine

Ashley Le-Pham (left), Medical Student Government at-large president, will be joining her fiancée, VCU alum Maggie Rossano, M.D., in the family medicine residency program at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. (Arda Athman, VCU School of Medicine)

Whether it was securing federal grant funding for overlooked institutions as a biologist at the National Science Foundation, serving as the at-large president of the Medical Student Government or leading a free clinic in Richmond, advocacy has been a common thread throughout Ashley Le-Pham's many pursuits.

“As doctors, we are leaders in our communities, whether you set out to be or not,” Le-Pham said. “It’s always been important for me to learn how to be a good leader and advocate for my community, because my voice will be stronger than ever after residency.”

Le-Pham will be joining the family medicine residency program at the Warren Alpert School at Brown University, joining her fiancée, Maggie Rossano, M.D., a VCU School of Medicine graduate and PGY-2 in the same program. Le-Pham said she is looking forward to connecting with the community there and getting involved in legislative action on her patients’ behalf.

Inspired by the primary care provider she had growing up, Le-Pham said she was drawn to the specialty because of the relationships and trust she can build in providing long-term care for patients and the diverse population she can serve. The specialty’s flexibility also allows her to continue pursuing advocacy alongside her medical practice.

“Family doctors are very ingrained in their community and can see the potholes in care,” Le-Pham said. “I’m inspired by the fight they do to make sure people feel safe and secure.”

Rebecca Moncayo, Pediatrics

Rebecca Moncayo will continue her training in the pediatrics residency program at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. (Arda Athman, VCU School of Medicine)

For Rebecca Moncayo, matching into the pediatrics residency program at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU is an opportunity to give back to the community that raised her. Born and raised Chesterfield, a suburb of Richmond, she can often be found volunteering at different city-based organizations, such as SOAR365, a nonprofit supporting children and adults with disabilities, and SCAN, a children’s advocacy organization.

“I have really strong ties to Richmond and am excited to keep caring for the kids here,” Moncayo said. “I don’t think I worked a day in pediatrics and didn’t come home with a smile. We have the best patient population and it's amazing to see them grow.”

Looking back on the past four years, Moncayo said she is “so thankful” for the mentorship, community and support she found at the School of Medicine. Inspired by her experience as a mentee, Moncayo has become a mentor herself to medical students, helping them navigate everything from studying for exams to applying for scholarships.

“Growing up, I didn’t know anyone who was a doctor. My family didn’t know what the MCAT was or how to get shadowing opportunities,” Moncayo said. “At VCU, I was really supported by my peers and the faculty.”

As a resident, Moncayo is excited to be a resource to the next generation of future doctors.

“Being able to meet incoming students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, is something I love doing,” Moncayo said. “I let them know that I am in their network and can be ‘that person’ for them.”

Connor McKee, Pediatrics, and Ashley Parkhurst, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Connor McKee (left) and Ashley Parkhurst couples matched into pediatrics and PM&R, respectively, at VCU School of Medicine. (Arda Athman, VCU School of Medicine)

When Ashley Parkhurst started medical school, she had never heard of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). When her now-fiancé Connor McKee started medical school, he had already spent years working with kids to solidify his interest in pediatrics. Now, nearly four years after the couple met during new student orientation, not only have they matched together into their chosen specialties, but they get to stay in Richmond, the city they’ve made their home together.

The two opened their envelopes side by side on Match Day and were thrilled and were thrilled to see their top choice revealed in their letters: VCU.

“We love Richmond and were really hoping to stay at VCU,” Parkhurst said.

After 12 years of competitive gymnastics, Parkhurst knew she wanted to pursue musculoskeletal medicine. But orthopedic surgery didn’t click the way she expected it to, and a Google search during a “mid-first-year crisis” introduced her to the field of PM&R. She credits the school’s Department of PM&R with deepening her passion for the specialty and said that watching her mentors interact with patients was inspiring and motivating.

Parkhurst’s goal is to go into adaptive sports medicine, and matching into a PM&R program is a full-circle moment for her: As she began exploring the field, she realized that the accommodations and support her family always provided for her mother, who had a traumatic brain injury as a teenager, were PM&R in action.

“We always made adjustments for her, had a chairlift in our home, did small adaptive things every day with her in mind,” Parkhurst said. “That’s kind of the whole premise of PM&R, giving your patients the most function and capability possible with whatever diagnosis they have.”

McKee’s journey was more straightforward, but his specialty choice is also rooted in childhood experiences. As a high schooler just outside Richmond in Hanover County, McKee joined a program that gave local students tours of different units at the VCU Medical Center. He recalled thinking at age 16 that most of the sessions were “pretty boring,” he said, until they visited the newborn unit, where a nurse holding a baby happily answered all his questions.

From there he shadowed his own pediatrician, volunteered as a kids' basketball coach, participated in pediatric studies as an undergrad at UVA and tutored at a nearby elementary school. In medical school, he served as co-president of the pediatrics student interest group, which gave him new insight as his peers decided whether treating children was for them. 

“A lot of people are initially drawn to pediatrics purely because kids are fun and silly, not because they want to do something clinically with children,” McKee said. “There’s a lot of stress on the families, and that can put people off, but I really like treating the whole family.”

As fourth-year medical students, Parkhurst and McKee participated in the National Residency Matching Program as a couple, which allows two people to link their rank order lists for the purpose of obtaining positions in the same geographic location. Couples like them match to the most preferred pair of programs on their lists where each partner has been offered a position — that could mean matching into programs at the same institution or at different institutions that are in the same city or region. The process was stressful, they said, but it was worth it. McKee said he couldn’t imagine going through medical school — or residency — with anyone other than Parkhurst by his side.

“There’s no one I’d rather talk about the stress of medical school with than her, someone who knows exactly what I’m going through,” he said, adding that they each handle stress differently and balance each other out. “Med school isn’t easy, and one of the biggest parts of our relationship being successful is that we communicate and know when to take a break. A lot of things aren’t worth stressing over, and we help each other take a step back. Having each other has been so good for both of us.”

 A version of this story was originally published by VCU School of Medicine

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