Share this story

UMass Chan medical students match into their top choice military residency programs

Marissa Mason, Derrick Tonto, and Will Pisano holding their UMass Chan match signs

Medical students Marissa Mason, Derrick Tonto and Will Pisano
Photo: Hallie Leo


Three UMass Chan Medical School students in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Class of 2025 have successfully matched into their top choice military residency programs in internal medicine, psychiatry and anesthesia, ahead of the National Resident Matching Program general match on Friday, March 21.

Derrick Tonto, an ensign in the U.S. Navy, matched into the internal medicine program at the Naval Medical Center San Diego.

“The U.S. Navy emphasizes leadership skills and has different avenues that are exciting—you can be on a ship, in a submarine or you can be a flight surgeon,” said Tonto, who was raised in Ghana, West Africa, and earned a Bachelor of Science in behavioral neuroscience at Centre College in Kentucky. “I'm looking forward to serving my community, giving back to people who have given their lives to the country and becoming the best physician I can be. Internal medicine optimizes this process where your patient comes with a problem and you both try to find the cause of it.”

Tonto will become a lieutenant when he graduates in June.

Marissa Mason, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army who will be promoted to captain upon graduation, will be moving to Maryland to complete her residency training in psychiatry at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Mason grew up in Simsbury, Connecticut, and  earned her undergraduate degree in biology of global health at Georgetown University.

“Psychiatry is a specialty where you need to know the whole person as a requirement for the treatment plan,” Mason said. “A lot of people think of PTSD when they think of a military population, which is certainly there, but there's also a lot of adjustment disorder, depression, suicidal ideation—that’s really dangerous and more common in this particular population. It's incredible to be in a position to help.”

William “Will” Pisano, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army who will be promoted to captain upon graduation, chose to pursue a career in medicine when his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He was accepted into Walter Reed’s anesthesia program. The Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program pays for tuition in exchange for a period of service following graduation.

“Anesthesia is becoming a much more competitive field as the years go on,” said Pisano, who grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and earned his undergrad in biochemistry from Boston College. “I’m excited to work with surgeons to stabilize people who’ve been wounded in conflict and get them back home safe to their families.”

Graduating medical students across the United States who are taking part in the National Resident Matching Program will learn where they will serve their residencies on Friday, March 21.