The journey to medical residency, aided by those who’ve been there
Medical students face a gauntlet of travel for interviews before their match—but Penn alumni mentors help out at this and other key career stages.
When fourth-year medical student Holly Cordray stepped off the plane in Denver for another long round of residency interviews, she knew this trip would be different.
Instead of a cold, impersonal hotel and a night alone in an unfamiliar place, she was invited to stay at the home of Jennifer Betz, MD, a pediatrician who had attended the Perelman School of Medicine, like Cordray, years ago. Betz had set aside a quiet room, folded towels, and strong Wi Fi.
“They were so welcoming,” Cordray said. “It felt much more personal than staying in a hotel.”
By the time medical students reach their fourth year, they hear stories from older classmates about the months spent hopping between cities, the pressure of competing for spots, and the emotional weight that comes with how this all impacts their next career steps. For Cordray, interviewing to be a resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery, the travel and intensity felt even heavier than she expected. Every interview was in person, and the travel came on the heels of a year filled with away rotations that required her to prove herself again and again.
“Pretty much you are on your own for flights and lodging,” she said. “When you are doing more than ten interviews across the country in two months, it really adds up.”
The Betz family enjoys meeting the students who come through their door. In fact, Betz has been hosting students since her kids were toddlers and now her oldest is in college, thanks to a program at the Perelman School of Medicine that fosters such connections between alumni and current medical students. Betz remembers her kids getting excited to meet the strangers coming to visit and convincing them to join in a game of Uno.
Building a special connection
The Alumni Mentorship+ program offers much more than just housing, connecting medical students with alumni for career insight, personal guidance, and practical support. Both students and alumni create profiles outlining their interests, experiences, and preferred ways of connecting. Students can then reach out directly to alumni whose backgrounds align with what they need.
Some alumni, like Betz, also open their homes for short stays during interviews or conferences. Students identify the cities and dates they need housing, and alumni can offer a spare room, transportation, or simply a reassuring presence in an unfamiliar place.
Running things behind the scenes is Kaitlin Milano, assistant director of alumni relations, who manages Alumni Mentorship+ and watches each connection unfold. More than 535 alumni are part of the program, representing a wide range of specialties, generations, and career stages. There are seasoned physicians ready to mentor the next generation as well as young alumni signing up as mentees who are switching fields or want advice on balancing work and life from someone who has been there.
As Milano likes to say, “everyone can be both a mentor and a mentee, depending on the season.”
Milano often hears from students who’ve found clarity through a single conversation or who left an interview trip feeling less alone because an alum welcomed them into their home. While usage varies across the four years of medical school, the pattern is consistent. Students lean on the program when they most need perspective, encouragement, or a reminder that they are part of a larger Penn community.
Seeing the future more clearly
Cordray’s stay in Colorado helped her see the city through a different lens. “Staying in someone’s home instead of a hotel gives you a better sense of what it would be like to live there,” she said. “That changed how I thought about the next six years.”
On Match Day this March, Cordray learned that she’ll continue her training at the University of Michigan. Her stay with Betz in Colorado remains a valued memory, and was a source of comfort during the uncertainty leading up to learning her match—Cordray knew that, if she had ended up in Denver, she had a connection. “It felt like I made my first friend in a new city.”
Milano keeps stories like that close. A student who found clarity during a coffee chat. An alum who praised the kindness and determination of the students they met. Each small interaction is another reminder of what connection can do.
“Hearing how helpful the program has been is the highlight,” Milano said. “Knowing that these relationships are forming makes it all worthwhile.”