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At just 7 months old, Elizabeth Maldonado Soloranzo had her first open-heart surgery. A week after graduating from Menlo-Atherton High School, she will be having her second.
Maldonado Soloranzo was diagnosed with Moya Moya syndrome, a rare blood vessel condition, at 7 years old. She missed an entire year of first grade and was held back after being hospitalized for complications from surgery on her head.
Despite her childhood health problems, the M-A graduate strives for academic success and is involved in the community through volunteering for Second Harvest food bank and being active in school clubs like Líderes LatinX and Crafty Bears.
Community service has been a big part of Maldonado Soloranzo’s upbringing. She said she’s been volunteering for 10 years and was introduced to Second Harvest through her father, who worked at the food bank.
Serving as president of Líderes LatinX, Maldonado Soloranzo said she was able to see people from various cultural backgrounds come together and create community despite their differences. Her involvement around campus is one of her favorite high school experiences, she added.
As Maldonado Soloranzo reflected on her time at Menlo-Atherton, she said the biggest lesson she learned was to ask for help.
“I’m the kind of person who wants to figure out everything on their own, but I actually found out throughout high school that if I can’t figure things out, I should be asking for help,” she said.
This was a lesson that grew over time, Maldonado Soloranzo added.
“I learned by my senior year that asking for help doesn’t come by itself. You have to get up there and make your voice heard,” she said.
While she still describes herself as a shy person, she’s gained the confidence to seek help and speak up, Maldonado Soloranzo said. Through her leadership roles, she’s been able to connect with more people, open up to them and become more outgoing.
Maldonado Soloranzo will be attending San Francisco State University in the fall to pursue mechanical engineering. She said she hopes to work in healthcare in the future.
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