Abroad on Match Day

March 17, 2025

It’s a day medical students wait years for. But Susanna Wang will not be beside her classmates sharing in the expectation and accomplishment of reaching their much-anticipated Match Day. Instead, she will be in China visiting her grandparents. To purposefully miss such a momentous day in one’s medical school journey might seem unconventional to her College of Human Medicine classmates. For Wang, who matched early, she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Wang matched in her chosen specialty of urology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "It could not have been a better situation," said Wang. Urology is one of the specialties that matches with students early, which is a bit ironic for Wang, who didn't know what specialty she'd pursue when she started med school. 

"I really liked peds. I was kind of leaning toward OB and women's health. But our anatomy lab in Grand Rapids at Secchia, it's top notch. It (was) an absolutely incredible experience… That really got me falling in love with anatomy and kind of a natural turn into surgery," said Wang. 

That interest in surgery spawned Wang to explore specialties that offer a pediatric option. Two pediatric urologists she shadowed at Corewell Health helped her see urology was her future. 

“You have to be welcoming and warm for people to feel comfortable talking to you about their urological concerns. As a whole, I feel like that field has really awesome people working in it. The residents are always so friendly. So that helped urology win over the other specialties,” said Wang. 

Wang urges students at the College of Human Medicine to get involved in interest groups where she says there are ample leadership opportunities. She credits Mark Trottier, PhD, student research director, with setting her up for success with electives and a urology research summer program that allowed her to free up time during the school year for studying and rotations. 

“He's one man and he does so much and I'm so thankful for him," said Wang. 

As for her trip to China, she says it’s the perfect time in between medical school and her residency to visit her grandparents who she hasn’t seen in 10 years. 

“I did have a mini Match Day with my family and my boyfriend’s family. We got balloons and decorations.” 

Wang also planned some urology-themed games and themes for the gathering including using Nerds candy as bladder stones, food-safe specimen cups with lemonade refreshments and a urology word scramble. 

"It was just a really fun time to bring people into a little bit of urology without it being scientific. It was fun for the family.”