June 2, 2004
San Antonio – Crystal J. Trujillo’s academic achievements in biochemistry at St. Mary’s University and career aspirations to help the medically under-served have earned her the four-year Galan Scholarship as an outstanding student entering the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Trujillo, who graduated from St. Mary’s in May with a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry, cum laude, will begin medical school on June 27. As a Galan scholar, Trujillo will receive $1,500 per year for all four years of medical school. She plans to specialize in pediatrics and rural medicine, based, in part, on her volunteer work with disabled children.
“I am very surprised to receive the award,” said Trujillo, 23. “It has been a lot of hard work but it has paid off,” she said. Her GPA at St. Mary’s was 3.77 and she graduated eighth in a class of 127 students from Devine High School in South Texas in 1999. Her mother is a seamstress who earned her GED while her father, who was born in Mexico, was a farmhand when he died during Crystal’s junior year of high school. She has a 16-year-old brother.
Trujillo will be recognized during a reception set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 3, at the Bexar County Medical Society, 2002 West French Place.
“We are grateful that the Galan Family, through the Bexar County Medical Foundation, is assisting this outstanding young woman as she enters our medical school, ” said Leonard E. Lawrence, M.D., associate dean for student affairs in the Health Science Center School of Medicine. “We look forward to working with her as she prepares to become a physician. She represents a South Texas native who is likely to serve in the region after her graduate medical education and residency are completed.”
St. Mary’s reputation as an educational leader and ranked highly for academic quality and best value were key factors in Trujillo’s decision to attend the University. Sixty-percent of St. Mary’s graduates who apply are admitted to medical and dental schools – a rate significantly above the national average of 33 percent and the Texas average of 25 percent. St. Mary’s also ranks in the top 10 nationally for the number of Mexican-American students accepted into American medical schools.
Note to Media: Crystal Trujillo is available for interviews. Contact her at (210) 854-1245.
For more information, contact: Will Sansom, director, News and Information, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (210) 567-2579 office, (210) 275-2160 cell.