“I see Mommy! I see Mommy! I see her!” Kairi gushed from the perch in her father’s arms at Quinnipiac University’s Burt Kahn Court.

Moments later, as the 60-second countdown raced toward tomorrow, her mother, Kizzi Belfon, opened her envelope and beamed at her husband and daughter.

For Belfon, this is how it feels to match with an obstetrics-gynecology residency at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. This is the day that changed everything.

Belfon and the Class of 2025 learned of their residency placements Friday through the National Resident Matching Program. The 81 students who matched from the Class of 2025 were among the 47,208 candidates applying for 43,237 residencies in The Match, which uses a computer algorithm to produce a destination and a discipline for the next three or more years.

For Dean Phillip Boiselle, MD, the comparison to college basketball’s March Madness was spot on. It was both memorable and magical.  

“Regardless of how you describe it, Match Day is truly an event to be experienced firsthand, and I am so glad we are here celebrating it together as a community,” Boiselle said. “To our students, I am incredibly proud of you for reaching this meaningful milestone. You remind us daily of why we are here and why what we do matters.

“Your intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm for the practice of medicine, commitment to the health and well-being of our community, and compassion for your patients — and for one another — are admirable and inspiring in equal measure!”

Overall, Quinnipiac Netter students matched with residency programs all across the country, including the school’s first graduate to match with the Quinnipiac Rural Psychiatric Medicine Residency. Other matches included Hartford Hospital/Hartford HealthCare, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Tufts Medical Center.

Quinnipiac Netter students matched in 20 different specialties and subspecialties, including anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, primary care and urology. The residencies span 18 states and the District of Columbia.

Carrying the promise forward

Growing up in California, Alex Portillo often watched his father, a truck driver, return home exhausted after long days on the road.

“I break my back so you won’t have to in this country,” his father would often say.

Now, on Match Day, as Portillo takes a significant step toward becoming a doctor, he carries that same promise forward — a commitment to work hard to improve others’ lives. 

Portillo spent several years in research prior to medical school, focusing on areas including allergy and clinical immunology, HIV research and T-cell immunotherapies for cancer patients. He knew that research could have a significant impact for patients down the line, but he wanted to be close enough to watch that impact.

“Being there for patients and knowing that I can do something to help at that moment, I think that’s where I can make the biggest difference.”

He volunteered in clean syringe exchange programs to help prevent the spread of bloodborne diseases, working with volunteer organizations that provided health screenings and free clinic services in southern California. It was these experiences that ultimately drove him to pursue a career in medicine.

Born in Los Angeles as the son of Central American immigrants, Portillo didn’t take the direct route to medical school. After high school, he spent several years working with his dad in the trucking and warehousing industries.

But he felt a pull to return to school for his education, enrolling in a local community college before completing his undergraduate and master’s degrees in biochemistry at the University of California San Diego. He entered the academic research field before clinical volunteering steered him toward becoming a physician.

“It kind of solidified for me when I was working with the predominantly underserved community in El Cajon, east of San Diego, where many patients were refugees and asylum seekers.”

As a volunteer, Portillo served as a Spanish interpreter for a physician working in a bungalow-style building, next to a grocery store, where patients could walk in and receive treatment for whatever was ailing them.

“I could see myself in some of those patients and their families. I mean, we were those people. We’d go to no-cost clinics, or travel to the doctors in Tijuana, Mexico for affordable care,” said Portillo. “I know what it's like when you feel defeated or unseen. I knew that medicine was where I could make the greatest impact.”

Portillo credits his close-knit family, especially his parents, and three brothers, for their constant and unwavering support. While he has enjoyed his years of medical school on the East Coast, the desire to be closer to family played a key role in his decision to apply for residency in California.

“My parents never pushed us in any one direction after graduating high school. They encouraged us to find our own way in this world,” said Portillo.

Now, on Match Day, as he opened his envelope to reveal his residency in internal medicine at Scripps Green Hospital in San Diego, he is ready to move forward knowing he will carry not only his family’s support but also the foundation he built at Quinnipiac back to his home state.

“After the Quinnipiac Netter interview day, Quinnipiac was definitely my top choice for medical school,” said Portillo. “The incredibly warm and welcoming faculty made it feel like a place that truly supports its students — and that has proven to be true throughout these four years.”

Love, medicine and Match Day

While their stories began on opposite sides of the country, Ava Vause and Eldar Sorkin found common ground as first-year medical students. As they waited to open their envelopes on Match Day, the recently engaged couple said they would be fine with wherever they were placed, as long as they can be together.

Vause arrived at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine from Gainesville, Florida, where she grew up with her mom on a farm complete with a pond, ducks, horses and an alligator. But when it was time to think about medical school, she felt ready for a change of scenery.

“I loved my interview day so much with Netter – I just fell in love with Quinnipiac,” said Vause. “I had the opportunity to stay home after completing my undergraduate at the University of Florida, but I wanted something new.”

She discovered her path to medicine through a love of science and playing in the natural world of her farm. But it was the memory of her grandfather, Charles Cusumano, MD, who inspired her to pursue patient care. During his career, he had been a local oncologist in the Gainesville area, responsible for founding the North Florida Regional Medical Center oncology program.

“I was volunteering at the hospital where my grandfather used to work. Even though he has been gone for more than twenty years, people remember him. They had his photo on the wall,” said Vause. “They had so many nice things to say about the impact he had on the staff and the patients he served. And that made me think about continuing his legacy. I want to make that kind of impact, too.”

Vause is pursuing a career in emergency medicine, while Sorkin is matching into diagnostic radiology.

Moving to the United States from Kazakhstan at the age of 2, Sorkin came to Quinnipiac Netter from California where he lived with his grandmother, aunt and younger cousin.

“My path to medical school was a tortuous one. I struggled a lot in high school and was even on academic probation at the local community college at one point,” he explained. “During that time, I was a valet, grocery cashier and a delivery driver. But my last job was at a gym where I started working out. I had struggled with my confidence growing up, but lifting weights inspired me to think about who I was, and who I wanted to be.”

Realizing his love of science, he created a list of priorities and started over again with his education. Earning a 4.0 GPA at the local community college for two years straight, he then transferred to the University of California, Davis, to complete his degree in biological sciences.

“I think that a lot of kids don’t realize their potential because they may be told by others that certain careers are out of reach,” said Sorkin. “It would be cool if my unorthodox journey could inspire kids to pursue their passion, no matter their starting point.”

Inspired by his Aunt Elly who is a nurse and his family’s own struggles with access to healthcare, he decided to pursue medicine. He began volunteering at a local community clinic as a Russian medical translator and graduated Magna Cum Laude from UC Davis.

“I’m grateful that Quinnipiac Netter took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to become a physician,” said Sorkin. “The teaching and guidance I’ve received throughout these four years have been second to none. Coming to Quinnipiac was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Surrounded by family and friends, the couple tore into their envelopes to reveal they wouldn’t be heading very far from Quinnipiac Netter. The couple matched to their No. 1 choice, Yale New Haven Hospital, in emergency medicine for Vause and radiology diagnostic for Sorkin. The fact that they will be together is only one of many reasons they have to celebrate the future. 

The ‘poor people governor’

As a little girl growing up in Grenada, one of the island jewels of the Caribbean, Kizzi Belfon was an astute observer of the world — its beauty as well as its flaws.

“I’ve just always gravitated to things in life I felt strongly about,” said Belfon, who hopes to match with an obstetrics and gynecology residency. “Even as a child, I was always trying to understand the world and figure out why it wasn’t fair. It didn’t make any sense to me. I just thought, ‘Well then, we have to make it fair.’ For me, that became my passion.”

That passion eventually led to her family nickname, the one bestowed by her brother. The little girl with the big heart and the big dreams became known as the “poor people governor.” The title encapsulates her strong commitment to advocating for those most marginalized.

Today, Belfon’s mission — her lifelong calling, really — is broad, equitable access to quality healthcare, especially for women. After a distinguished career in public health in New York City, Belfon found a formidable ally in medicine.

Fueled by this powerful double helix, Belfon is eager to begin her next chapter as a physician guided by an extensive knowledge of epidemiology, the study of how diseases emerge, spread and affect different communities. 

As a senior research analyst with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Belfon worked on the city’s COVID-19 response team during the pandemic. She also developed an annual report about integrating doula care in maternity hospitals and conducted research about maternal health outcomes and premature mortality. 

“The potential that public health has to impact so many people's lives with just one policy is profound,” said Belfon, a former Miss Grenada/USA who used her platform to develop several public health initiatives. “Public health goes above and beyond to understand the barriers that people face and how to really help bridge that gap.”

And yet, Belfon sensed that something was missing in her career path. She longed for those interpersonal connections, the 1-on-1 relationships and conversations with patients.

“I was doing a lot of advocacy as a public health researcher, but whenever I would go on site visits, I just loved hearing about the clients our program served,” Belfon said. “I met OB-GYNs who were very thoughtful and intentional about how we can implement best practices and reduce health inequities.

“That’s when I realized I wanted to do what they were doing. I wanted to provide that kind of patient-centered, community-centered care,” she said. “Philosophically, OB/GYN is very much in line with who I am because there is so much inherent advocacy in a field that takes care of people who have a uterus and are navigating their reproductive health.” 

Suddenly, the little girl from Grenada with the big heart and the big dreams is about to become a physician. And the “poor people governor” will be right there with her to celebrate Match Day.

Serving her country — and her patients

For the better part of two years, Tara Kobayashi oversaw the Bobcat Community Health Alliance, the student-run free clinic for Quinnipiac Netter. She loved everything about it — the patients, how they presented, the lessons in real time.

But perhaps most of all, she loved the humanity and the authentic conversations with underserved communities.

“The homeless population often ends up in the (emergency department) for a variety of reasons,” said Kobayashi, who matched at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in Texas last December with the Military Match. “It's a very different experience when you volunteer and have all the time in the world to sit down and talk with someone.”

This wasn’t the frenetic emergency department so often portrayed on television. Rather, this was emergency medicine at its kindest and most compassionate, veritable moments dispensed with care and respect.

“It’s incredibly difficult to be homeless or insecurely housed or living with food insecurity. I learned a lot just listening to people’s stories, hearing about their lives and how they spend their days,” Kobayashi said.

“I would often ask what they’re looking for in a healthcare provider. And, most often, they would tell me, ‘Just somebody who cares, somebody who listens, somebody who doesn’t dismiss me,’” she added. 

For Kobayashi, who enrolled at Quinnipiac Netter after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2018 as a 2nd Lieutenant with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry, the commitment to service — to her country, to her patients — has never wavered.

“The emergency department is one of the few places in medicine where it doesn't matter what insurance you have. It doesn't matter how much money you have,” Kobayashi said. “We don’t do appointments in the ED. It doesn’t work like that. But regardless of who you are, where you come from, what's going on with you, we will always treat you.”

For three-plus years after earning her bachelor’s degree, Kobayashi thrived in the U.S. Air Force.

She was a vehicle management flight commander in Montana and led an 80-person team that maintained more than 700 vehicles worth $96 million. She also served as a logistics flight commander in Oklahoma and led a 77-member team and the execution of a $335 million base operations support contract.

During her four years of medical school, Kobayashi has studied and lived away from her husband, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who is stationed in New Jersey. The couple hopes to reunite in Texas, she said.

“I went into medicine to serve and be there for people no matter what. That kind of base piece is really what fits for me,” Kobayashi said. “In the ED, people tend to focus on the super-acute patients, which are an everyday occurrence. But more often than not, you're dealing with the person who has an exacerbation of a chronic issue or might be coming in because they don't have access to primary care. Every day is different. I like that.” 

Taking a smarter, more inclusive approach to the games that unite us

As a first-year Quinnipiac Netter student, Zak Foster embarked on a mission to better the community where he was learning to practice medicine — a crucial step in a young doctor’s development.

A football player by trade — Foster played defensive back at Wesleyan University from 2015-18 — he recognized the opportunity to make hockey more accessible to New Haven-area youth even if skating wasn’t his forte.

Along with three of his Quinnipiac Netter classmates, Aaron Marcel, Jake Baekey and Colin Uyeki, Foster co-founded Hockey Haven, a nonprofit organization that attracted the attention of the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers as it amassed over $100,000 in fundraising.

“What grew from a rather casual idea of us kind of sitting around, trying to make an impact in our direct community turned into introducing hockey to over 200 kids in the New Haven area,” said Foster, who is set to begin his neurology residency at Boston University Medical Center. “It’s a pretty special thing to be a part of.”

Sports are a constant in Foster’s journey to becoming a physician, and the Southwick, Massachusetts, native’s chosen discipline has always held deep personal significance. His grandmother died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a devastating neurodegenerative disease that has been linked to the traumatic brain injuries sustained in football, hockey and other high-impact sports.

Foster saw the damage up close while working as a researcher and ALS brain bank coordinator at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Boston.

“The question you always hear is ‘would you let your kids play football,’ right?” Foster said. “I think for me, the answer comes down to the opportunities that came from the sport, all the great people I met and all the great lessons I learned. But as we learn more and more about the science of the sport and the effects of getting hit over and over, the answers get more complicated.

“A lot of people love the sport, so we can’t say let's just stop it. It’s more about: How can we modify this game and make it safe for everyone to learn and be able to play at a high level without predisposing us to these neurological injuries?”

Sharing in the emotion of Foster’s residency match was his wife, Hannah Lahey, MD ’24. Foster was by her side last year when she learned of her neurology residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, months before the couple’s June wedding.

"It's kind of an unreal moment," Foster said. "The first word I read is Boston — that's all I was looking for. That's all I needed. But the countdown really gets to you. It's just so special to share this with Hannah and our families."

Working together in a field they’re so passionate about is a dream come true for Foster and Lahey. But he suspects the bonds with all of their Quinnipiac Netter classmates will endure.

“You have this reciprocal relationship where you're all helping each other get to where you want to go,” Foster said. “Up and down our class, we have so many tight-knit groups and friendships that will last a lifetime.”

A hands-on method of helping patients overcome and endure

Christine Etzel recorded 23 shutouts as a goalkeeper on the Brown University women’s soccer team, tied for second-most in program history. But one stands out: an Ivy League Conference matchup with Harvard from October 2017 in which Etzel occupied one net while her twin sister, Danielle, guarded the other in the Bears’ eventual 1-0 victory.

Parents Thomas and Michele Etzel sat on the sidelines, straddling the line between supportive and impartial. 

“Our poor parents would sit in the middle of the field,” Etzel said. “They didn’t go as far as wearing split jerseys or anything like that, but it was definitely a little awkward for them.”

The family enjoyed an unconflicted celebration on Friday when Etzel learned of her residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Buffalo Medical Center in Buffalo, New York.

“You feel so many things,” said Etzel. “It's exciting but a little nerve-wracking to have everyone watching you as you open the envelope. I'm really excited for the next stage.”

A born athlete from Madison, Connecticut, whose oldest sister, Nicole, also competed in a Division I sport, Christine Etzel said she knew in high school that her hands would one day be an asset away from the net.

In fact, it was during her recovery from a high school injury when she realized that orthopaedics, with its emphasis on tangible repairs and the resilience of the human body, was always her desired path to becoming a doctor.

“I've always been somebody who likes working with their hands,” Etzel said. “When I was in the operating room for the first or second time, it was very much like, ‘yes, this is what I want to do.’ Orthopaedics as a specialty is very gratifying because you're able to see and fix a problem and most of the time your patients recover well and they feel better afterwards.”

At Quinnipiac Netter, Etzel recognized a familiar dynamic: the camaraderie that’s inherent to team sports is also present in a cohort of medical school students.

“It makes you emotional to think about it because it's just like college or high school again, where we're all about to go off into our own places in the real world again,” Etzel said. “We've gotten really close. We’ve been through all these moments together. I've just been so lucky to have such supportive friends who've been there for me through the ups and downs.”