Majority of McGovern Medical School Class of 2025 will stay in Texas for their residencies after results of Match Day revealed

The Class of 2025 at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, 239 strong, found out yesterday where they will take their next step in their medical career as they, along with fourth-year students across the country, opened envelopes at the exact same time. 

The majority of the class, 136, or 57%, will stay right here in the Lone Star State for their residencies, while 101, or 42%, matched to primary care positions, which are in short supply across the country. Over a quarter of the class, 65, matched to McGovern Medical School programs. The annual event is coordinated by the National Resident Matching Program®.

“This class began during COVID and didn’t let anything slow them down,” said LaTanya J. Love, MD, UTHealth Houston interim president and Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair and dean of Education at McGovern Medical School. “They worked incredibly hard and it shows in the exceptional matches they made. We are incredibly proud of them.”

Here are some of the stories of the Class of 2025.

Dillon Humpal

From a young age, Dillon was interested in medicine — his father was a physical therapist and his mother helped run his clinic. But his biggest motivation to become a doctor occurred after he was injured in a tragic plane crash that took the life of his mom and put his younger sister in a battle to survive.

When Dillon was 13, the plane carrying him and his family to a winter holiday crashed. The tragedy claimed the life of their mother, Gaby. Dillon's younger sister, Sara, was severely injured and spent the next 10 days in intensive care. Dillon, his dad, Scott, and his brother, Tad, were all treated for injuries, from spinal fractures and a broken ankle to neck pain. When stable enough to travel, the family returned to their hometown of Corpus Christi and sought care from community doctors. Ten months later, he unexpectedly lost his brother. That was when Dillon began paying attention to the field of health care.

"We were taken under the care of some really great doctors in our community that not only helped us heal physically, but emotionally as well," Dillon said. "After the crash and losing Tad, I couldn't stop thinking about ways to give back, and there's so much good that can be done in health care."

Dillon went on to attend Texas A&M University, where he studied biomedical sciences with a certificate in medical Spanish, inspired by his mom, who was from Monterrey, Mexico, and taught him Spanish as his first language. In 2021, he married his high school sweetheart, Anna, and when deciding where he wanted to go to medical school, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston just stood out.

In the future, Dillon, 26, envisions himself working as an orthopedic surgeon in his hometown of Corpus Christi, giving back to his community, and carrying on the legacy of his mother and brother through their family nonprofit, the Gaby and Tad Humpal Foundation.

He will take his next step toward that goal at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. “Next I graduate in May and then move to Fort Worth, so I'm eager to move there with my wife and start my residency. I wanted to stay in Texas, so I am excited,” Dillon said.

Elizabeth Rodriguez

On the same day Elizabeth Rodriguez started high school, her father began chemotherapy for a rare cancer. She didn’t think he would be alive to attend her quinceañera, let alone watch her open the letter that will define the next several years of her life.

She witnessed her father grapple with the uncertainty of cancer, watching doctors often reduce him to a cluster of symptoms, without empathy and connection. To Elizabeth, those values became just as important as her clinical knowledge.

“I want to be a more empathetic physician than those my father had, prioritizing caring for people as human beings first,” said Elizabeth, now 27. “Ultimately, I hope to support patients with unique experiences, like my father’s experience as a young adult with cancer.”

Elizabeth’s interest in the personal, emotional reality of illness shaped her path through medical school: As an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, she watched her spina bifida patients enjoy playing wheelchair tennis. As a student on her internal medicine clerkships, she learned about holistic medicine from Carissa Huq, MD, and Karthik Bhandari, MD, who discussed nonmedical obstacles patients face during hospitalization and barriers to their successful discharge. She helped initiate McGovern Medical School’s service-learning program, which allows students to engage in community-facing service via Houston organizations addressing social drivers of health — whether that’s interacting with homeless LGBTQ youth or postpartum mothers in the hospital.

“I’m proud to expose colleagues to the diverse populations that they will serve,” Elizabeth said. “It will make them more well-rounded as physicians and human beings.”

She aspires to eventually care for adolescents and young adults during cancer treatment and survivorship, taking a holistic approach to their care.

The first in her family to attend medical school, Elizabeth wants to pave the way for her sisters and other Latina women. Her sisters, along with her father and the rest of her family, watched Elizabeth open her envelope to see her dream match to internal medicine-pediatrics at McGovern Medical School.

“I feel ecstatic. I’m speechless,” she said. “I’m so happy that I get to stay home with my family, with the people I’ve been taking care of, the people who have trained me, and that me and my fiancé can start a life here.”

Jacob Urbina

When Jacob Urbina, 25, lost his right index finger nine years ago while removing debris during volunteer flood relief efforts in Palestine, Texas, he thought his life as he knew it was over. And it was. He just never expected it to lead to everything positive in his life afterward.

While the immediate effects were devastating — he couldn’t play the clarinet in his high school band in Elkhart, sign his name, or play the guitar — he made the decision to not let it hold him back.

“It was the best thing that happened to me,” he said. Jacob took up playing the bass clarinet, where he could adapt to nine fingers, and won state honors. When told his insurance company wouldn’t cover a prosthetic, he used his computer science knowledge to design and print his own.

That led to an interest in biomedical engineering and he graduated from the Cockrell School of Engineering with high honors at The University of Texas at Austin. While there, he was president of e-NABLE, a student organization that prints 3D prosthetic limbs for children free of charge. An experience with that group made Jacob realize that he wanted to do more than just make prosthetics — he wanted to treat the people who would wear them.

“I received an email from the mom of a little girl with a hand difference and she said her daughter wanted her prosthesis to be bright pink,” Jacob said. “When I gave it to her, this little 4-year-old said, “I can shake your hand now!’ Had I not gone through my amputation, this person’s life would not have been changed, at least for a brief time.”

His goal is to become a physiatrist, creating unique treatment plans for people with differences in physical function, so he is hoping to match with a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency.

The Saturday before Match Day, he married Medha Raghavendra, MA, a speech language pathologist at TIRR Memorial Hermann, where he did his student rotations. It’s one more good thing that came after becoming an amputee.

They will stay here for a one-year internship at McGovern Medical School before heading to Northwestern’s Shirley Ryan AbilityLab for three years.

“I am really honored to have the opportunity to stay here in Houston for a year and care for the people that I have loved, and with those who have trained me to be the physician that I am today. It is a great feeling to be able to give back to this community,” Jacob said. “And then to be able to move on to Chicago and learn even more about my field at one of the best rehab hospitals in the nation, it’s a chance to become the best physiatrist that I can be. It was my top choice, and allows my wife and I to plan things and get ready for this next phase of our lives.”  

Jeffrey Mayo

From the moment he stepped into McGovern Medical School, Jeffrey Mayo, 32, knew he was in the right place. The rigorous academic environment and hands-on experience provided him with invaluable medical training, but it was the human side of medicine that left the deepest impression.

“More than anything, my time at McGovern has given me a deep sense of humility,” Jeffrey said. “Interacting with patients, hearing their stories, witnessing their resilience, and facing the limits of medicine have taught me to approach each encounter with gratitude.”

Outside of medicine, Jeffrey has found strength and discipline through boxing. Originally from Port Arthur, Texas, he turned to the sport as a way to connect with his new community in Houston. He later became a coach, working with young athletes in the city’s Third Ward, helping them develop skills inside and outside the ring.

“Boxing taught me that preparation is everything,” he said. “Just as training shows in the ring, preparation in medicine defines how well I care for patients. That mindset drives me to always put my best foot forward, whether in the clinic or the hospital.”

As Match Day approached, Jeffrey embraced the uncertainty of his next destination with optimism and excitement. His next step will take him to a residency with Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee.

“I was really calm coming in. I think it hit me when I opened it up. I’m just grateful for the opportunity and thank God. It's a blessing,” Mayo said. “Vanderbilt has some outstanding programs for my prelim and dermatology year, so I’m excited about moving to Nashville.”

Katrina Caszatt 

As a child, Katrina Caszatt remembers being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Her answer was always the same, “A doctor.” By the time she reached high school, she enrolled in a research program that reinforced her passion for caring for others, and she knew — medicine was her calling.  

Now 25, Katrina will get to live out her dream. In a few short months she will start her family medicine residency at the Eglin Air Force Base in western Florida. Unlike their civilian counterparts, students pursuing careers in military medicine receive their assignments months ahead of time.

“I grew up in an Air Force family with pilots all around me,” she said. “I am going into family medicine, but I will eventually be a practicing flight doctor. It’s a personal passion for me and I’m super excited about it.” 

Throughout her years at McGovern Medical School, Katrina was part of the Military Medical Student Association, a program aimed at helping other military medicine students navigate both the military and medical school. She also spent time volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“I had a lot of incredible mentors in my life, but I owe a big thank you to my sister,” Katrina said. “My sister is a pilot in the Air Force, and she paved the way for women like me. She was my biggest mentor in life and showed me that I could do anything I wanted. I’m so thankful for my time here at McGovern. I met a lot of my best friends here and I am so excited to see where they are matching. We are bringing some great physicians to the workforce, so thank you, McGovern Medical School.”

Madeline Guy

On a Saturday morning in her junior year of high school, Madeline Guy, 26, from San Antonio, attended a speech and debate tournament that would shape her career trajectory. With a passion for science and a love of interpersonal connection, her path as a future physician was made clear.

“One of the events is called original oratory. A speech from a classmate of mine was about the shortage of bilingual physicians in the country,” Madeline said. “At that moment, I knew I wanted to become a Spanish-speaking physician.”

This newfound passion led her to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, for her undergraduate degree, where she double-majored in Medicine, Health, and Society as well as in Spanish.

Outside the classroom, Madeline traveled abroad to the Dominican Republic on medical service trips, where she and her colleagues performed physical exams and vision assessments for children. 

After completing her undergraduate degree, Madeline decided to focus her attention on pediatrics as a student at McGovern Medical School. “I always really liked kids,” Madeline said. “Especially when addressing social determinants of health, it felt logical that the best time to intervene was, put simply, at the beginning.”

She was drawn to the acuity of an inpatient setting, especially during her critical care rotation in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). “Right now, I am quite interested in intensive care and potentially pursuing a career in PICU, but I am incredibly open to whatever career path residency training may reveal,” Madeline said.

That path revealed a return to the state of Tennessee for her residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “I’m just so thrilled,” she said. “It’s such a good day, and I couldn’t have imagined anything better. Going back to Vanderbilt is like a dream come true. I’m so excited.”

Karla Madrigal

Health care and medicine have been in Karla Madrigal’s field of vision since she was a child. A graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio, she remembers constantly traveling through the city’s medical center growing up and interacting with uninsured and underinsured patient populations through community service. 

Karla, 25, developed her passion for health care policy and legislation, along with dermatology, through her volunteer work. Now, she hopes to continue it through a dermatology residency. 

“I want to increase health care awareness and education,” she said. “I’ve met a lot of individuals that didn't really know about the field of dermatology. It’s been nice to see patients' reactions when they tell me about something that was bothering them on their skin and now know that they can see a dermatologist. There is so much opportunity for growth within the field, and we really need more physicians sitting at the legislative table to enact health care change.”

Karla was drawn to McGovern Medical School after completing a summer internship through the Summer Health Professions Education Program. She met the faculty and formed mentoring relationships with professors, including Asia Bright, PhD, who helped her study and apply to medical school. She has also served as the co-director for the Southwest region of the Latino Medical Student Association, an organization focused on scholarships, professional development, networking, and mentorship for Hispanic and Latino medical students. 

She will be headed to Austin for a residency at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.

“I’m super excited! This is huge as the first in my family to pursue medicine,” she said. “This is really an accomplishment of the entire family with all of their sacrifices and hard work. It definitely paid off. I'm excited to embark on this new journey and learn as much as I can to become the best dermatologist that I can be.”

Panayiotis Kontoyiannis and Camila Ayerbe

Panayiotis “Panos” Kontoyiannis, 26, is a first-generation Greek American whose father came to the U.S. for a residency in infectious diseases. Camila Ayerbe, 26, was born in Colombia and came to this country at an early age when her mother’s job with HP Inc. was transferred here.

McGovern Medical School, particularly an oncology student group, brought them together in their sophomore year and they began dating and studying together, pushing each other to be better students.

“We share a lot of the same values,” Camila said. “We’ve very similar, very family-oriented, and the most important part is that he loved my dog.”

They entered Match Day together as a couple with the hope that they will spend their residencies near each other, if not in the same place. They were rewarded with residencies at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

“We are very excited. It’s such a long process and we are happy to get a great match and be together for the next four years,” Panos said.

Panos was born and raised in Bellaire while Camila grew up in Klein. He decided to pursue medicine after volunteering at a camp for children with cancer and later attended Rice University, where he graduated with a degree in biochemistry and cell biology while minoring in medical humanities. She grew up translating for her father and saw firsthand the struggles immigrants can face navigating the health care system. She graduated with a degree in biochemistry from UT Austin, minoring in business.

Both said Gabriel Aisenberg, MD, professor of internal medicine, has been one of their biggest mentors during their time at McGovern Medical School. Panos also praised Mary Horton, PhD, MPH, MA, assistant professor and director of the Medical Student Research Office, as a great advocate. Camila said Mark Farnie, MD, professor of internal medicine-pediatrics, has also been an invaluable mentor for her.

Panos was drawn to the HOMES (Houston Outreach Medicine Education and Social Services) Clinic and now serves as executive director of clinic operations. The free clinic, run by student volunteers under faculty direction, serves people experiencing unstable housing in Houston.

“I got involved early and saw the disparities we have in our city, particularly as they relate to health outcomes,” said Panos, who received the Toshi Nikaidoh Service Award from the UTHealth Houston Student InterCouncil and an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. “My goal is to match in internal medicine and to continue to work with underserved communities.”

Camila has chosen internal medicine-pediatrics for her residency. “This allows me to do both adult and pediatric medicine. I love both patient populations and because I like to work with vulnerable patients, pediatrics is best for that,” said Camila, who is in the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society at McGovern Medical School. 

“Internal medicine-pediatrics is very competitive, so we are grateful to match to such a strong program,” Camila said.