Crystal: I’ve felt the many struggles American immigrants go through in the U.S. health care system
Growing up in Utah as the oldest of three siblings, Crystal Vejar knew early on that she had both an affinity for science and for helping those around her.
“I was the oldest child, and I think that instilled in me a strong sense of needing to care for others,” said Vejar, a second-year student in BU’s Graduate Medical Sciences Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MAMS) program.
Vejar, who also serves as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves, will be headed to medical school after graduating from the MAMS program this May. As a child, she often served as a translator for her parents.
“Being a first-generation (college) student and the oldest in my family, and also the first to learn English, led to me very often being put into new and often confusing situations,” Vejar said.
“I think I’ve felt the many struggles American immigrants go through in the U.S. health care system, starting with the language barriers, the financial stressors, the complicated forms and appointments to figure out, insurance and more.”
For her, the road to a career wasn’t always apparent or straight.
“When the path is as long and difficult as it is for us pre-med students, deviation from the traditional timeline is very scary,” Vejar said. “But I think it can be empowering and add to your experience in ways that can ultimately be the reason you become successful.”
After two years studying biomedical engineering at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Vejar enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2018. Following basic training and surgical technologist training, she returned to upstate New York to work as a surgical technologist at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, completing her biology undergraduate degree at a nearby college.
With medical school the goal, Vejar was accepted into the MAMS program in 2022, and got married. But while on her honeymoon, she received notice she would be deploying to Somalia. For nine months, she was stationed at a far-forward post, assisting in emergency medical interventions and surgeries, returning to the U.S. in August 2023, arriving at BU just in time to begin her graduate school studies.
The 40-year-old MAMS program at BU is one of the oldest and most successful Special Master’s Programs (SMPs) in the United States, helping more than 3,000 students gain admission to medical schools. The program molded her into a strong researcher and future health care professional, as well as a passionate advocate for others.
“I liked that MAMS focuses on making students fit what medical schools look for, from research to courses,” said Vejar, whose Army reservist duties require her to periodically travel to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York, where she trains others in her unit to make sure they are mission-ready.
At BU, Vejar works in the Layne Lab, and her research is focused on the mechanisms of adipocyte fibrosis.
The support she received growing up, as a student and in her professional career, inspired her to mentor others. At GMS, Vejar works with the Community Catalyst Center (C3) where she is a peer mentor for programs helping first-generation students, military-affiliated and veteran students, students of color and its newly launched Non-Traditional Graduate Student Community. She is a student representative on the GMS Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Steering Committee.
“I learned to look for help and rely on mentors who had been through the same things, or who could help me find the right people,” she said.