Hispanic Heritage Student Spotlight: Ginelle Maldonado

CBC is Celebrating and Honoring Hispanic Heritage! We now highlight Ginelle Maldonado!

"¡Feliz mes a todos! I am Ginelle from Banámichi, Sonora, a town in México so small that there are no strangers, and everyone is family. I’m a Biochemistry senior and a minor in Spanish. I'm grateful for the opportunities this university has given me to explore science through research. I'm currently part of Dr. David Margolis’ lab as a Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities (WAESO), a student program that encourages and prepares underrepresented communities for a career in STEM.

In addition to my life as a biochemist in the making, I am also a pre-dental student. I am indebted to the people I have met on this journey and the knowledge I’ve acquired from them since in order to prepare for dental school I have completed a dental assisting course provided by two of my greatest mentors, Dr. Osete and Dr. Cervantes, who taught me the basics of dentistry through much patience and fun. Now, Dr. Nagao has given me the opportunity to work with him as a dental intern at Designer Dental where I get to continue learning about dentistry while joining the wonderful family that this office is.

I am grateful for many of the opportunities I’ve come across as a student but what I’m most grateful for is my family such as my parents for giving me much love whenever I missed my hometown in Mexico, and encouraging and supporting me to study in this country in order to have a better future. Also, my older sister who went through the same journey that I am going through and always makes sure I learn from her mistakes.

My advice to everybody is, as my father says, “pónganse abusados” (get yourself together/ focused)."