And Georgette Dent, associate dean of the School of Medicine, had not even handed out any envelopes yet.
Four backbreaking years of medical school, four years of undergraduate study and countless hours of dedication come down to one envelope on residency Match Day.
Thursday at noon, 155 graduating medical students anxiously opened envelopes to find out their addresses for the first three to seven years of their medical careers -- their residencies.
The computed matches are determined by the National Resident Matching Program, a private nonprofit organization that matches about 35,000 graduating medical students' preferences with programs' preferences for 23,000 residency positions.
"It's a dream come true," said Charles Toulson, a graduating medical student who will begin his training in orthopedic surgery next year at his No. 1 choice, Johns Hopkins University.
"I just feel like all my hard work has come to fruition and I feel blessed to be at a great institution," Toulson said. "I feel indebted to the professors at UNC for giving me a top-notch education."
Sixty-three percent of the medical school's class of 2001 received their first choice, and 14 percent received their second choice. "Most of us put down (on the application) places we'd really want to be," said graduating medical student Shane Hoover, explaining the lack of disappointment in the auditorium.
Family medicine Professor Robert Gwyther said Match Day is the second most important day of medical school, behind graduation.
But for medical student Janet Dear, a 38-year-old mother of two, Match Day matters more than graduation because it determines her family's location. Dear said she was pleased with her assignment to Duke University. "We wanted to stay in the Triangle and we're very excited."
