Rutgers Medical Students Fulfill Their Dreams on Match Day

New Jersey Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School students joined thousands across the country who learned where they will complete their residencies

Travis Garth contributed to his first diagnosis at age 12.

As his older sister taught him how to use his new house key, Garth noticed that her hand froze in a clenched position for a few seconds. Soon after that, he noticed that the same thing happened every time she opened a water bottle.

Garth told his mother something didn’t seem right, and his observations led to a doctor’s diagnosis of a progressive form of muscular dystrophy.

“That was my first experience noticing something wrong and diving in to see what we could do about it,” said Garth, a student at New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) who learned on Friday that he will continue his medical training at Atlantic Health System in Morristown.

The news came during Match Day, a nationwide event when medical students find out which hospitals have chosen them as residents. Along with NJMS classmate Tabhata Paulet and Natalia Kellam Sahler, who attends Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Garth was among thousands who gathered on campuses across the country to simultaneously open envelopes revealing where they will pursue in-depth training in their chosen specialties.

“Match Day is a highlight of every medical student’s educational journey,” said Amy P. Murtha, dean of RWJMS. “The class of 2025 exemplifies the dedication needed to improve the lives of patients, families and communities. We are proud to see our students rewarded for their hard work as they begin residencies at some of the most prestigious hospitals and universities nationwide.”

At RWJMS, 93% of the 172 graduating students who participated matched to a program of their choice, on par with the national average. Forty students will stay in New Jersey to do their residencies, 25 of whom will train at either NJMS or RWJMS. Others were accepted to prestigious institutions including Harvard Medical School/Brigham & Women’s, New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center, Yale-New Haven Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

At NJMS, 93% of the 153 graduating students also matched, with 67 students planning to stay in New Jersey, 57 of whom will complete their residencies at either NJMS or RWJMS. Others will do their residencies at prominent institutions including the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Emory University School of Medicine.

"Match Day is a defining moment for our students as they prepare to graduate and embark on the next phase of their training,” said Robert L. Johnson, dean of NJMS. “This momentous occasion reflects their tenacity and unyielding pursuit of excellence – qualities that will shape them into compassionate, skilled physicians.”

Natalia Kellam Sahler
Match: Boston Children’s Hospital

The daughter of a dentist and an adolescent psychologist, Sahler always knew what it meant to work in medicine, but she was most inspired by her grandfather, a physician. At age 93, he still sees patients three days a week.

Sahler will specialize in pediatrics because she enjoys the “lifespan challenges” involved with seeing patients from the newborn stage through early adulthood.

“There’s an awesome duality of getting to be playful and creative with how I explain things to kids but also being the person who's a source of comfort for the parents,” added the Basking Ridge native, who graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 2020 with a BS in human science.

Sahler is especially excited about opportunities to provide medical education, something she’s been passionate about since spending a gap year as a fifth-grade teacher at a charter school in Newark.

At RWJMS, she helped create the Step 1 Bootcamp to prepare second-year students for a key exam. And, through the school’s prestigious Distinction in Leadership in Academic Healthcare program, she created coursework that prepares residents to teach medical students. 

The author of several published studies, Sahler – who was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society and recognized with the Bruce Fischer Award – also cared for uninsured adults at the RWJMS Promise Clinic.

Sahler was on the Piscataway campus with her husband, parents and grandmother when she learned she had matched at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she will participate in the Boston Combined Residency Program.

“It was my No. 1 choice and an incredible world leader in pediatric healthcare,” she said. “I’m overjoyed!”

Tabhata Paulet
Match: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Paulet, who grew up in Paterson after her family immigrated from Peru, believes cultural and economic barriers to healthcare played a devastating role in her grandmother’s death. Without access to adequate medical care or awareness that annual OB/GYN visits were necessary, her grandmother was left vulnerable to a preventable illness.

“When I realized her cervical cancer could have been prevented, it made me want to pursue a field where I could bridge those gaps,” said Paulet, who graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers University in Newark in 2019 with a BA in cell biology.

Paulet looks forward to making that difference as an anesthesiologist, having been inspired by the specialty’s fast pace and a project she completed through the Summer Research Trainee Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, which involved studying women of color with substance abuse disorders who did not receive adequate pain management during labor and childbirth.

A recipient of the Lupe Fund’s Zulima V. Farber, Esq. Scholarship for outstanding leadership who was also elected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society for her empathy and altruism, Paulet has supported fellow medical students through organizations including the Latino Medical Student Association by helping to connect them with networks, mentors and opportunities.

On Match Day, she was on the Newark campus with her parents.

“They spent years struggling and working very long hours,” she said, “and I want to make sure their sacrifices were worthwhile.”

Travis Garth
Match: Atlantic Health System, Morristown

The youngest of four siblings, Garth is proud to have been the first to attend college.

His early knack for putting together Legos and fixing cars was a precursor to his interest in surgery. “I wanted something where I could use both my head and my hands,” said Garth, who graduated from Rutgers University-New Brunswick in May 2017 with a major in exercise science and applied kinesiology and earned a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies in 2020.

Garth is excited that he’ll be living out that dream at Atlantic Health System.

“I’ve always wanted to give my time and skill set to people with backgrounds similar to mine, whether they were uninsured or underinsured,” the Passaic native said. “I think everyone deserves a fair shot at getting through whatever illness or ailment they're experiencing.”

Garth upheld the same credo at NJMS, where he volunteered through the school’s Student Family Health Care Center to bring free medical services to homeless people. He also mentored high school and undergraduate students interested in studying medicine.

When he received his good news on Match Day, Garth was accompanied by his girlfriend, mother and sister.

“I’m ecstatic to stay in New Jersey and be part of a robust general surgery program,” he said. “I’m beyond confident that I will graduate a strong, compassionate and competent surgeon.”