1:11
They said they’re also proud of each other’s achievements so far.
“He worked extremely hard … and then [he’s] self-motivated and that actually, I often was inspired by him, by his work ethic,” Cao, who described her son as “smart” and “kindhearted,” said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Hefei-Liu-1-ht-gmh-230324_1679671443218_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Liu, who called his mom his “biggest supporter,” said he’s still amazed they both matched. “I really had to pinch myself to believe it and I think even then, I had doubts. … I'm extremely grateful. I'm proud of my mom. I think both of our journeys to this point were drastically different and they weren't easy for either of us.”
“Having her match with me on the same day really speaks to who she is, as a person, someone who's caring, dedicated and hardworking,” he added.
Cao also said she hopes her personal journey can serve as an inspiration for others like her who may be considering a career change or have had a non-traditional life path.
“I hope my story can inspire so many others like me, at my age, [in their] 50s, and as a mother, as a woman, as an immigrant, [anyone] can pursue their dream, as long as you want it,” she said. “It's your dream, put hard work on it. Keep positive. Stay motivated. You can get it.”
Liu added, “If you see your parents or any of your family members who are interested in pursuing medicine and they have an interest, but they clearly have some sort of obstacles in their life, you should … be supportive of them and encourage them to pursue that dream because I think with dedication, hard work and sometimes just even luck, that you can truly achieve your success.”
Editor's note: This was originally published on Mar. 24, 2023.
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Family/mom-son-celebrate-matching-residency-programs/story?id=98083134","legacySlug":"/family/story/mom-son-celebrate-matching-residency-programs-98083134","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"04:00","publishDate":"04-19-2023","updatedTime":"19:21","updatedDate":"04-19-2023","socialImage":{"alt":"Hefei Liu, a student at Medical College of Wisconsin, and his mom Wenjing Cao, an international medical graduate and a resaerch scientist, both found out they matched residencies last week.","credit":"Courtesy of Medical College of Wisconsin","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Hefei-Liu-1-ht-gmh-230324_1679671443218_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"4/19/2023 04:00:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":98083134,"headline":"Mom and son match residency programs together","mediaAssetTitle":"MOM SON MATCH DAY RESIDENCIES","description":"Wenjing Cao and Hefei Liu celebrated together on Match Day.","duration":"1:11","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/03/230324_gma_digital_residency_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["97290910","70558020","84620847"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"February 17, 2023","headline":"All-women team makes history with heart transplant at California hospital","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/women-team-makes-history-heart-transplant-california-hospital-97290910","id":97290910,"image":{"alt":"All-women team makes history with heart transplant at California hospital","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/heart-1-ht-er-230217_1676658161356_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Raymond Ibale/UCSF Health","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 8, 2020","headline":"Meet mom, daughter working together as nurses: ‘I have someone that really gets it’","section":"wellness","slug":"/wellness/story/meet-mom-daughter-working-nurses-70558020","id":70558020,"image":{"alt":"Meet mom, daughter working together as nurses: ‘I have someone that really gets it’","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/200507_Cindydaughter_1_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Jessica DeBrocke","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 9, 2023","headline":"Mom inspired to become a nurse after twins’ 87-day NICU stay","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/mom-inspired-nurse-twins-87-day-nicu-stay-84620847","id":84620847,"image":{"alt":"Mom inspired to become a nurse after twins’ 87-day NICU stay","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/taylor-jade-england-tara-wood-ht-jt-220509_1652134670769_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Frank Couch/UAB School of Nursing","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Mom and son match residency programs together","description":"Wenjing Cao and Hefei Liu celebrated together on Match Day.","duration":"1:11","uploadDate":"04-19-2023","publication":"04-19-2023","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/03/230324_gma_digital_residency_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/03/230324_gma_digital_residency_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/mom-son-celebrate-matching-residency-programs-98083134"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:family:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"family","title":"Mom and son match residency programs together","pubTime":"00:00","pubDate":"04-19-2023","modTime":"15:21","modDate":"04-19-2023","taxonomyTags":"none","id":98083134,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Mom and son match residency programs together","mediaAssetTitle":"MOM SON MATCH DAY RESIDENCIES","videoId":98083134,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/family/story/mom-son-celebrate-matching-residency-programs-98083134"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/98083134","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/98083134","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};