White Coats and Love Notes: A Love Story Rooted at CMSRU
February 14 ❤︎
Victoria “Tori” Djakow and Jacob “Jake” Metheny first met during CMSRU orientation in August of 2022 - a day that marked not only the beginning of medical school, but also the start of their relationship. Three years later, the couple walked down the aisle and said, “I do.”
For both Tori and Jake, CMSRU was the ideal place to study medicine and build the foundation for their careers. Tori had long dreamed of becoming a physician and hoped to attend CMSRU, while Jake was drawn to the opportunity to learn and serve the Camden community. The school’s mission of service learning — the combination of teaching and learning with substantive community service — was a defining factor in their decision to enroll.
Proximity to family and the communities where they were raised further solidified CMSRU as the right choice — a decision that would shape not only their professional paths, but their personal lives as well.
“It has been a blessing to navigate medical school, interviews, and the Match process with someone who understands exactly what the other is going through,” they shared. “We’ve been able to study together and support one another and will continue to be there for each other for every step of the way.”
The couple became engaged last March during a weekend break in Palm Beach, Florida, amid their third-year rotations. They were married in September of 2025 at a small ceremony in Ventnor, New Jersey. They credit CMSRU as an integral part of their story.
Looking ahead, Tori and Jake are preparing for Match Day next month as they participate in the “couples match” — Jake pursuing Emergency Medicine and Tori Family Medicine. While the future holds some uncertainty, they are excited to see where their shared journey takes them.
“We would like to express our thanks to Dr. Kocher,” they said. “We may not have ever met without being at CMSRU, and with his role in Admissions, we feel it is thanks to him that we had the opportunity to attend a school where we not only received outstanding medical training but also found the person we’ll spend the rest of our lives with.”
For Tori and Jake, CMSRU didn’t just shape their careers – it helped write their love story.