WORCESTER Khanh-Van Tran was 8 when she and her family emigrated from Vietnam to Worcester in search of a better life. On Friday, the soon-to-be graduate of the University of Massachusetts Medical School was overjoyed to find out she will launch her career as a physician in this city she calls home.

On Match Day at UMass Medical, Ms. Tran was one of 121 fourth-year medical students who learned where they will be assigned for their hospital residencies later this year. Ms. Tran learned she had been matched with her first choice, UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

"It means a lot," said the alumna of Worcester's South High School, who grew up across the street from Clark University. "I grew up in Worcester. I love this community, and UMass gave me the best medical education. I feel so lucky that I matched here.

"It's a community I want to make a difference in. It means the world to me."

Ms. Tran, 31, who is going into internal medicine, is the first doctor in her family. Her parents, she said, are very proud. "My dad had tears in his eyes today."

Hers was just one of many good stories at the medical school's Albert Sherman Center Friday.

Worcester native Michael Richardson's family members gathered around as he opened his envelope and learned he had been matched to Carney Hospital in Dorchester, which has an innovative new program in his chosen field of family medicine.

His wife, Monica Wang, a research fellow at UMass Medical School, jumped into his arms for an embrace. "I'm so happy," said Mr. Richardson, 27. "Carney was my top choice. They're really trying to challenge medicine."

Ms. Wang, 28, who holds a doctorate in public health, was weighing several offers of assistant professorships starting this summer. With Mr. Richardson headed to Carney Hospital, the couple, currently living in Westboro, can plan accordingly.

Mr. Richardson, a member of the Nipmuc Tribe centered in Grafton, is the first in his family to attend medical school.

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UMass Med students matched to residencies