Lauren Maldonado

Lauren Maldonado is a senior from Los Angeles, majoring in Biology and Art History. Lauren’s love for life and for the outdoors manifested itself early on in a curiosity for nature, biology, and the marine world. Inspired by her love for the ocean, Lauren pursued several diving certifications on Catalina Island and in the Bay Area. From trips along the coast and to California’s spectacular national parks – from Big Sur to Yosemite to Joshua Tree and in the mountains surrounding the LA basin — Lauren has explored and continues to wander through the treasures that her native California landscape has to offer. Additionally, she spent last summer in the United Kingdom and the fall semester (2010) backpacking through Italy and Western Europe, and has also traveled throughout Mexico and Asia.

This is Lauren’s second year guiding with SC Outfitters. Inspired by the dedication, passion and commitment of her fellow guides, she was eager to help spread our love for adventure and to foster a greater outdoor community on campus. During the spring of 2011, she co-lead several day trips to the Malibu Canyons, backpacking trips to the San Gorgonio Wilderness, as well as a Nature Photography trip to Joshua tree and is kicking off the fall semester with a outdoor sketching trip to Escondido Falls. She’s extremely excited about bringing lots of new trips to the table this in the coming year!

Lauren is passionate about SC Outfitters and its mission to bring about positive change on campus. She strongly believes that being part of this family of wonderfully diverse people, driven by a desire to inspire a passion for the outdoors and to help others see the world with new eyes is one of the most rewarding and transformative experiences she has been a part of at USC. She loves sharing in new experiences with wonderful people, having fun, and fostering unity and growth within the USC community.