April 16, 2025
Maribel Veiga ’27, singer and healer, works toward career in medicine
By Sandy Coleman
One of the most treasured possessions of biology major Maribel Veiga ’27 is a framed family photo taken at her baptism. She is dressed in white; her mother holds her, her father smiles, and godparents stand near her.
This moment from the past is inspiration for all that she wants to do in the future — especially since it is also a reminder of how fleeting life can be. Her father died of colon cancer when she was 9 years old after a five-year battle.
“Every time I look at that picture, I feel a reason to work hard and never give up,” said Veiga, sitting at a sunny table in The Center at Moore Hall at Providence College one spring morning reflecting on her academic and personal journey.
Veiga dreams of becoming a doctor. She has made significant strides by participating in Brown University’s Rhode to Medicine program, which selects promising undergraduates from local colleges and provides them with four weeks of hands-on medical experience. Veiga shadowed doctors at a hospital, learned about body systems, trained in the emergency room, learned how to draw blood, practiced intubation on a manikin, and attended lectures and classes at Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School.
“Through the program, I became more confident and feel more experienced and ready for the field,” said Veiga, who was born in the United States, raised in her parents’ native Cape Verde until age 9, and grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island.
Her pursuit of a medical career is deeply influenced by her father’s illness.
“While he was sick, I really wanted him to get better. When he came home from treatment, I would give him water or give him a massage, just thinking it was a form of medicine that could help him. That inspired me to want to take this career path into medicine and help others,” she said.
Although interested in oncology, Veiga is fascinated by the heart and plans to be a cardiologist or cardiac surgeon.
“I think it’s beautiful that it is the first thing to start in life and the last thing to stop when you die. It’s poetic to me how the system works,” she said.
Veiga, a first-generation college student and recipient of a David and Lynn Angell Scholarship, chose PC for its reputation and proximity to home. After losing her father, she didn’t want to be too far from her mother. She appreciates the peaceful campus and supportive community.
“It’s beautiful here. I can go anywhere and feel relaxed from sunrise to sundown. And I’ve had amazing professors who I can count on,” especially since she is the first in her family to pursue a medical career, she said.
Brett Pellock, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, played a significant role in her decision to attend PC.
“Before I decided to come to Providence College, I talked to Dr. Pellock on the phone, and he told me I could do this,” she said. “I took his class when I came here, and he was supportive through it all.”
During the fall 2024 semester, Veiga was a research assistant for Pellock, studying how soil reacts to metal.
Ileana Soto Reyes, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, is another key figure in Veiga’s academic journey.
“Dr. Soto Reyes is my advisor, and she is always encouraging me,” Viega said.
Soto Reyes said when she heard Veiga discuss her goal at their first advising meeting, she could see that Veiga has all the necessary qualities to become a great physician, especially kindness.
“Her intelligence is not merely academic but also emotional, allowing her to deeply understand and empathize with others,” Soto Reyes said. “It is evident that she conducts herself with integrity and honesty, thereby inspiring trust.”
Veiga, a member of the Cabo Verdean American Medical Society, did an independent study examining the medical system in Cape Verde with Danny Kyei-Poakwa, a lecturer in African world view and supervisor of independent Black research studies on Africa and the Diaspora. She conducted interviews while in Cape Verde during spring break this year.
During the spring of 2024, Veiga participated in a Guatemala Service Immersion trip, delivering food, helping build houses, visiting schools, and teaching children.
On campus, she is a member of Footprints gospel choir, which allows her to indulge her passion for music. The soft-spoken sophomore is a professional singer who performs at local venues and campus events like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Vision Awards ceremony in 2024. She hopes to sing for her patients one day as part of providing care.
“Singing to me is transmitting feelings that I don’t know how to express to people,” said Veiga, who uses her voice to show appreciation, advocate for causes, celebrate special occasions, and spread love.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when she was in high school, she created a thank-you video to email her teachers, a gesture that was reported in a story on WPRI-TV. She also made a TikTok video singing her original song, “We All Count,” to encourage participation in the U.S. Census, earning her a 2022 Civic Leadership Award presented by former Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea.
In one of her many videos on her YouTube channel, she sings “Lison De Vida” (“Lessons of Life”), written as advice for her by Cape Verdean composer Kim Alves.
“If anything puts you down, you can get back up,” said Veiga, translating the Portuguese Creole lyrics into English. “People may tell you ‘no’ many times, but don’t let that ‘no’ be the end of it. You can still try and get up. I carry those words with me.”
“I came to PC not knowing what to expect, and I was a bit shy. But now I feel like I can do anything. I am more connected to the school,” she said.
The Center at Moore Hall, where she has attended many multicultural events and built friendships, has been instrumental in fostering that feeling. The community, sense of belonging, and support she has found in this space — and at PC — provide the encouragement and resilience needed to follow her dreams.
“A lot of times I feel like I shouldn’t rest or stop working because I want to achieve this one goal,” said Veiga. “But I’ve learned that it’s OK to stop and take a moment for yourself as well, because I need to take care of myself in order to take care of my patients in the future.”
You remember what it felt like — that moment when everything clicked, and you realized what you were meant to do. That’s what your gift through The Fund for Providence College makes possible. Every dollar open doors for students to discover who they are, what they love, and how they’ll make their mark.
