Christian Pineda and Kassandra Jean-Marie show off their matches following UMass Chan’s Match Day ceremony.
Of the 160 fourth-year students in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School participating in the National Resident Matching Program who matched into residency programs across the United States on Friday, March 15, two students have especially deep connections to UMass.
Kassandra Jean-Marie and Christian Pineda are both UMass Amherst alums and graduates of the UMass Chan Baccalaureate MD (BaccMD) Pathway Program, which prepares first-generation college students and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds within the UMass system for the medical school admissions process. Jean-Marie, a student in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) track, matched in family medicine at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, and Pineda matched in family medicine at UC Irvine Medical Center. Both matched at their top choices.
“I believe that the essence of medicine lies in its ability to aid and support those most vulnerable in our society,” Jean-Marie said. “My decision to specialize in family medicine has been shaped by firsthand experiences witnessing the devastating consequences of inadequate care in my family and community.”
One of Jean-Marie’s Match Day guests was her high school history teacher at Greater Lawrence Technical School, Victor Martinez. Jean-Marie shared that if it wasn’t for Martinez, she wouldn’t have thought she could go to college, much less medical school. With Martinez’s encouragement, she became a certified nursing assistant and graduated from the Commonwealth Honors College at UMass Amherst with degrees in microbiology and public health. It was there that she discovered the BaccMD program.
“The BaccMD program enabled me to continue my dream of becoming the physician I wish we had in my community growing up,” Jean-Marie said.
“The BaccMD program enabled me to continue my dream of becoming the physician I wish we had in my community growing up.”
While a UMass Chan student, Jean-Marie conducted community-based research as a committee member on the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services’s COVID-19 Vaccination Force.
“A key question of my research was revealing why populations of color exhibited vaccine hesitancy,” Jean-Marie said. “By creating a space for candid discussion, our organization was able to tailor our outreach efforts to address these concerns, leading to increased vaccination rates.”
Pineda has been involved in the Latino Medical Student Association and the mentorship program UMass LIGHT (Leadership Institute for Growth, Health and Transformation). He is proud that the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Admissions Committee on which he serves and the overall student population are more diverse than when he enrolled.
According to admissions data, in 2017, 11 Latin-identifying students were accepted to the Medical School. By 2020, when Pineda was accepted, the number had jumped to 27. During the 2022 application cycle, the number had risen to 43.
Pineda wanted to match in family medicine because he wants the patient-physician–relationship to be at the center of his practice.
“Being the first line for many patients means that you are the basepoint for their health and a bridge to navigating the complexities of health care. Additionally, I like to see patient problems from all facets, thus family medicine allows me to see all types of patient problems and from all demographics," Pineda said.
Watch the full Match Day celebration on YouTube or Facebook.
