Student Spotlight: Alberto Maldonado ’25, SGA President
A few years ago, Alberto Maldonado ’25 wasn’t even thinking about going to college. Now, he’s president of the Student Government Association (SGA) and fully enmeshed in student life at Dean.
“I was invested in my trade – I was going to be a mechanic,” Berto explained. “But at the last second, I just decided to follow my dream. I wanted to play football, I wanted to invest in business, and I said, why not give it a shot? I came here not really knowing or understanding what Dean was about, but ready to go to work.”
Since arriving at Dean, Berto has certainly done that. He’s a member of the football team. He’s been an orientation leader, in Dean Activities Board and in other clubs and organizations like Black Student Union. He’s also participated in as much as he can as a commuter, like Bulldog Beginnings and service events like Build a Bed. And it all happened because of the support and encouragement he found at Dean.
“A lot of my professors pushed me to be even better,” he said. “When I first got here, I didn’t want to be involved because I didn’t understand it – I came here to just try to get my education and leave. Having people push you to be like, ‘Okay, you’re really good at this and you can do even more,’ that’s what Dean is. A lot of people here want to see you succeed. And the more involved you are, the more people you meet, and the more ways you’ll be connected to this school.”
As SGA president, his goal is to leave Dean a better place than he found it.
“I liked how we got to be involved in making change, so I decided to be president to try to be the pinnacle of that change,” Berto said. “I’m not going to complain about something without actively trying to change it, because that’s hypocritical. When I got to Dean, I just fell in love with trying to make change and trying to bring people happiness.”
Among Berto’s day-to-day responsibilities in SGA include managing student clubs and organizations, being the voice for students, introducing events and initiatives that people can be involved with, and working with faculty and staff, all while keeping the bigger picture – the future of Dean – in mind.
“We’re trying to build a foundation so the next SGA can build something even greater,” he said. “We're trying to make the school bigger and better every day. That's been the theme here since I've been here. No matter what happens, we've always tried to find a way to make it better. There's always people proactively working to make it better.”
That future is also a theme in his own life. Berto is a first-generation college student, just like 30% of the student body at Dean – and nearly 50% of the incoming Class of 2027. He’s majoring in business management with a minor in psychology so that he can open his own business and help support his family, but also so he can better connect with and support others.
“With business and psychology, I’m trying to understand how it all works,” he said. “Having money is one thing, but having generational wealth is another, and that’s a big goal in my life. Studying business will help me build generational wealth and understand my own finances, while psychology will help me understand people better and how they can be different. I think the more you understand somebody else, the more you can connect with them, and the more genuine and the connection can be.”
Through it all, the main lesson Berto has gained from Dean is about taking on – and overcoming – any challenges he may face.
“There’s no quit in Dean. That’s what I like. From sports to academic classrooms to everything that happens here, if there’s adversity, we face it head on.”