LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) – Students at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine spent the day celebrating the next steps of their lives.

Envelopes cover a table, which students excitedly rip open to reveal their futures.

Friday brought the UK College of Medicine Match Day, where the results for residency and fellowship applications are finally unveiled after much anticipation. Olivia Henderson got the news she wanted when she found out she’d be continuing her journey in Lexington.

“It’s the best news I’ve ever gotten, I’ve been waiting for it all year,” Henderson said.

Henderson like others celebrated the big moment with loved ones. Henderson said it was just what she wanted.

“This is the program that grew me and developed me from the second I was in medical school. It means a lot to get to go back to my roots and finish my training,” Henderson said.

While some are staying in Lexington, others like Josie Llanora will be going to Michigan.

“I would say that it’s indescribable. It’s something that you have to be in this room to be able to feel so many different emotions from accumulation of four years of hard work. Being able to know that my family has been here to support me all throughout the four years and even before then, understanding the hard work it takes to be a doctor and all the support that someone needs,” Llanora said.

A big celebration not just for students, but also for the faculty and staff who watched them grow over the years. Dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Charles H. Griffith, spoke on how much these students have been through, and how it all prepared them for a successful future.

“I think the future of the medical fields and wonderful hands with these young people, they’re so idealistic, they’re so enthusiastic, This class especially has been through quite a bit with things that happened in the world, the all the COVID surges, the floods in eastern Kentucky through tornadoes in Western Kentucky, Our medical profession is in great hands with these young people,” Griffith said.