The University of Missouri-Kansas City's graduating medical students gathered in the School of Medicine's courtyard Friday to find out what hospital they'll be paired with to complete their residencies.
Nearly every one of the more than 100 graduating students was crying, laughing or a combination of the two when they got to open the envelopes containing their assignments.
As their names were read off, faculty members stuck colored pins on a map of America to represent where the class of 2015 will be going. Graduate Chiazotam Ekekezie ended up getting her first choice of school: Rhode Island Hospital at Brown University.
"I'm over the moon, I'm ecstatic and incredibly grateful to UMKC for the training I received here," Ekekezie said tearfully. "It feels like everything, all the sacrifice, all the hard work, the [tuition] money, it was all worth it."
Nearly a quarter of the graduates will be staying in the metro area, while the rest will take residencies across the U.S.
Here's a video of the emotional moment when the students got their assignments:
