![\"Fourth-year](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1_daniel-boaretto-and-mom.jpg\")
Fourth-year FIU medical student Daniel Boaretto and his mom at Match Day.<\/p>\nMatch Day is a defining milestone for medical students across the country. It\u2019s the moment they learn where they\u2019ve\u00a0matched\u2014where they\u2019ll train as physicians in their chosen specialties. Sealed envelopes hold the secret of where that will be. For the fourth year in a row, FIU Medicine obtained a 100% residency placement rate for all 112 graduating students.<\/p>\n
Residencies are post-medical school training programs that can last anywhere from three to seven years and are extremely important because you can\u2019t get a doctor\u2019s license without this additional training and residency spots are limited and highly competitive. This year, the National Resident Matching Program reported more than nine-thousand applicants did not match.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it speaks to the strength of FIU\u2014how well students are trained and how supported we are,\u201d said Shaun Crist, who matched into the FIU\/Baptist Health General Surgery Residency program. \u201cI\u2019m excited to stay close to home. I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist\u2019s path to surgery started early. At 15, he watched his father undergo open-heart surgery\u2014an experience that inspired him to shadow the cardiothoracic surgeon who performed the procedure. \u201cI\u2019ve been on the road to surgery ever since.\u201d He is one of five students who matched into the joint FIU\/Baptist Health residency programs, marking the second year FIU has welcomed residents through its partnership with Baptist Health.<\/p>\n
Daniel Boaretto is going to be an anesthesiologist at NYU. A Miami native and FIU alum, Match Day marked the realization of a dream made possible through both determination and donor support. He is an Albert and Debbie Ta\u00f1o (full-tuition) Scholar. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be where I am today if it weren\u2019t for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother, Carla Boaretto, is still trying to process it all. She worked at Caf\u00e9 Bustelo on campus when her son began medical school and hopes his story encourages others. \u201cEverything is possible with hard work and sacrifice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Fourth-year FIU medical student Daniel Boaretto and his mom at Match Day.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ta\u00f1os\u2014longtime supporters of FIU and the College of Medicine\u2014were there to celebrate.
Dr. Ta\u00f1o serves on the FIU Board of Trustees, and Debbie is a member of the FIU Foundation Board. Three of their children are physicians, including two FIU Medicine alumni, with their youngest daughter currently enrolled at FIU Medicine.<\/p>\n
For Tarlan Kehtari, Match Day was the culmination of years of focus and perseverance. \u201cYou forget how tired you were,\u201d she said. \u201cIt all feels worth it to get to this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kehtari will be specializing in neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, drawn to the field by both her early interest in neuroscience and a personal experience watching her grandmother battle Alzheimer\u2019s disease. \u201cIt really shaped how I see illness,\u201d she said. \u201cIt affects not just the patient, but everyone around them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The college\u2019s namesake Dr. Herbert Wertheim joined the Class of 2026 for the celebration along with FIU Provost Elizabeth B\u00e9jar and FIU President Jeanette Nu\u00f1ez, who joked, \u201cI know we\u2019re not supposed to have favorites, but this is my first Match Day\u2014so you\u2019re my favorite [class].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Match Day is a defining milestone for medical students across the country. It\u2019s the moment they learn where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-211741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}