Maritza Montanez is from Ansonia, Connecticut, where she graduated from Ansonia High School as salutatorian, captain of the girls’ tennis team, and Director of Conferences for the Human Relations Club. A biology major, Maritza is a member of the Combined Program in Medicine. She has volunteered over 150 hours at her local hospital, where she also participated in a Mini-Medical School program. In 2007, she was selected as a semifinalist in the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition for her research project entitled “Obesity in Adolescents as a Result of a Sedentary Lifestyle.”