A 10-second countdown ticked as medical school students awaited their “envelopes.”
What followed was an explosion of emotion at Amon G. Carter Stadium as TCU’s med school students learned to which residency program they had been matched.
Among the students matched from the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University was Ivette Mota Avila, 32.
Ivette’s mother, Rebeca Mota, had tears streaming down her face.
“We’re so happy because our daughter made her dream a reality,” Mota said in Spanish. “We’re so proud of her. When she started medical school, we were so nervous and we thought it would feel like forever, but look, my daughter made it a reality.”
Super Frog, the mascot at Texas Christian University, wears a white coat and claps on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Medical school graduates walk to their assigned spots on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Samuel Mota, left, and Rebeca Mota, right, walk to their standing spots to see their daughter, Ivette Mota Avila, match on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A child walks with her mom on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A medical school student walks with her family and cheers on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ivette Mota Avila, 32, and her son, Quentin Avila, laugh on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A medical student’s family cheers them on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day at the Amon G. Carter Stadium. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A medical school graduates receives applause from her daughter on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ivette Mota Avila waits for her match to be revealed on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. Mota Avila matched at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ivette Mota Avila opens her match on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. Mota Avila matched at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Graduates become emotional as they embrace on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ivette Mota Avila reacts to her match on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. Mota Avila matched at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ivette Mota Avila celebrates her match with her husband, Samuel Avila, on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. Mota Avila matched at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ivette Mota Avila, center, shows her family her match on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. Mota Avila matched at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. From left to right: Samuel Avila, Ivette Mota Avila, Samuel Mota. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Rebeca Mota, the mother of a graduate, cries on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A graduate talks on the phone on March 17 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU match day. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Pins on a board show where graduates of the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU matched on March 17 at Amon G. Carter Stadium. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
Mota and her husband said it is a blessing that their daughter got matched as an obstetrics and gynecology specialist at Baylor Scott & White in Temple, about 70 miles north of Austin.
The family lives in Austin and said they would be able to help take care of their daughter’s son, Quentin Avila, who is 14 months old.
“We’ll help her with anything,” Samuel Mota, Ivette’s father, said in Spanish.
Ivette’s husband, Samuel Avila, said her match was her first choice. She did her medical school rotation at the Temple hospital.
“It was a perfect match,” Samuel said. “We know the area well and it’s not too far from her parents. We were crossing our fingers for this. She loved everyone there and I know she’s going to love it there.”
Ivette said it feels like “weightlessness.”
“I feel like I can do whatever I want right now. I’ve always wanted to work with women and use what life has given me,” Ivette said. “It does feel like a dream came true.”
The Burnett School of Medicine matched 100 percent of their graduates — 52, said Prescotte Stokes III, a spokesperson for the school. The non-graduates received grants to continue and will graduate next year.
The class of 2023, also known as the Dorman Scholars, began their journey in 2019 with 59 students whose tuition was paid for by donor Paul Dorman.
“This inaugural class sets the standard for all classes to follow, I think when the results get tossed, it’s going to be a hard act to follow for those of you ’24s, ’25s and ’26s,” said Natalie Lundsteen, the assistant dean of student affairs at the Burnett School of Medicine.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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