Sra. Maldonado hails from the great land of Texas. She was born in Mexico but grew up in the border town of Donna, Texas where both languages were regularly used. Sra. Maldonado has a Bachelor's Degree in Technical Communications with a minor of Computer Science and completed her Master in Teaching from Hamline University. She is also currently working as the Exploration teacher - a program focused on project based learning using Makerspace and Outdoor learning. In Texas, she taught for 13 years as an bilingual elementary teacher with a focus on servicing the gifted and talented. She moved to Minnesota nine years ago with her husband, Rene and her two kids, Gabby, age 17, and Matt, age 23. She loves the Minnesota summer and has discovered the joy of fishing and camping.