Growing up, Dr. Maldonado was surrounded by violence and gang activity. Yet even at a young age, Dr. Maldonado was social and community-oriented, developed many lifelong friends, and enjoyed music and hip-hop dance. During middle school, she began to understand the injustices she faced and knew she wanted to do more to resolve them. Her social advocacy began taking shape during middle and high school and are still a driving force for her work today.

Dr. Maldonado became a teen Mom. She credits the idea of becoming a mother as the key turning point in her life that helped her get away from gangs. She credits her teachers as big role models and mentors throughout high school, where she graduated with honors and was class president.

Dr. Maldonado was accepted to UCLA and initially found it a major culture shock. Originally a neuroscience major, she was surprised by how academically competitive her peers were and the lack of diversity; eventually, she found her people by joining various clubs and organizations. By her sophomore year of college, she was pregnant again, which motivated her to settle on a career path to help support her family. Her professors and TAs pushed her to focus on the questions she contemplated because of the circumstances in her neighborhood where she grew up. As a result, she was accepted into the McNair Research Scholars program researching system-impacted women. The mentorship she received and her participation in the McNair Research Scholars program set her up for graduate school, and now, a promising academic career.

By Natalia López