Q&A with Samantha Maldonado, President of the Prospanica Milwaukee Chapter

Q: Most people’s careers are basically a series of opportunities or paths you need to choose from. And sometimes, you may be left wondering, what if I took the other path? Looking back, is there a point in your career you’d like to go back to and see where that path would have taken you, just out of curiosity?

If I would have kept working and focused more strongly at my pre-med studies at the UW-Madison…(wanted to be a pediatrician). vs. changing to psychology, and ultimately business.

Q: Imagine you are going into your most important business meeting ever and you can bring 3 people along as part of your team…who would you bring and why? 

1. Oprah (to provide honest and authentic advice/feedback)
2. Sonia Sotomayor (she broke beyond a potentially predetermined fate/paradigm to be a successful leader) 
3. Ellen DeGeneres (to have some levity and still drive to objectives) 

Q: Tell us what you immediately associate with each one of the following 5 feelings:

1. Anger: not feeling listened to/judged/not understood
2. Sadness: loss
3. Joy: warm/smiling
4. Fear: not feeling fulfilled/accomplished
5. Satisfaction: those around me are fulfilled/happy/at peace/I’m seen authentically

Q: If you had a superpower, what would it would be and why?

I’d be Jean Grey/Phoenix from the X-Men. Full capacity of my brain. 

Q: What’s on top of your bucket list?

Can’t choose just one…a few of them are: 

• Hot air balloon ride
• Write a children’s book/series of adventures to teach about the history of Perú and the Incas
• Learn how to ride a horse well
• Do a TedX talk 
• Travel the world…
  • Hong Kong
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • France
  • Greece
  • Mauritius