Maleni Arredondo

Maleni Arredondo Jimenez / 2024 Team Fundraising

I could never replicate the endless journey of sacrifices my loved ones have so valiantly endured for my sake, but I can give them these 4,500 miles. 

Una especial dedicatoria para el hombre que me ha enseñado que lo único que no se hace en esta vida es rendirse - mi papá. Y el sueño que empezó hace más de 20 años, con un solo camion azul celeste, que ya a recorrido millones de millas. Por todos los sacrificios tuyos y de mamá. Esto va por ustedes, los amo.

In loving memory of Papá Pepino

  • $4,966

    Raised

  • $6,000

    Goal

  • 35

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About Maleni Arredondo

Bienvenidos! My name is Maleni Arredondo, and I am a 4+1 Public Health graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin. My concentrations are Field Epidemiology and Social and Behavioral Sciences. As a woman and a part of the Latino community, I am very proud of my heritage and interested in empowering marginalized American immigrant communities. Over the past four years, I have served under different leadership university positions, including research assistant and coordinator positions in health/research/awareness initiatives like Ojeda LEAD, Proyecto SEED, cherryish yourself, consensual, TIP, and SAYCARE. 

When I’m not running around The 40 Acres, like a chicken with its head cut off, I enjoy spending time with my dog, Mulan, my close friends, and my family. I take my cafecito black with a tablespoon of honey. In my free time, you can find me coffee-shop hopping, hiking an Austin trail, at the nearest dog park, or partaking in some good old retail therapy. 

I am also an avid stress-baker, which is actually one of my fundraising initiatives for my 2024 ride. Make sure to give @bakeasmile.co a follow on Instagram and join me as I document this crazy journey.

I am also a big baseball fan. Go ‘stros! My favorite author is Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Gabo), and my fav TV show is Gilmore Girls. You can often find me quoting random pop culture moments and movie references in my jokes, so yes, my sense of humor is broken. Okie, speed round of fun facts - I was born in Mexico and moved to South Texas when I was 9 years old. My biggest pet peeve is slow walkers, and I HATE cancer. Please join the cause and show my lovely teammates some LOVE ♡

MY TESTIMONIAL

My answer to "Why did you join Texas4000?" is slightly unconventional, to say the least, but please bear with me as I explain.
Las mariposas monarcas. Monarch butterflies are the reason I joined this cancer-fighting, leadership-building, and hope-spreading non-profit organization. When I was about six years old, I became obsessed with these majestic orange-winged creatures that, without failure, swarmed the skies of my Mexico every Fall. I made it my mission to learn every little fact about them and make it everyone’s problem - Hector, my best friend and childhood partner-in-crime was the primary victim of my endless rambling. “Did you know? Sabias que monarchs are the only butterflies that travel such lengthy two-way migration trips every year. Flying more than 3,000 miles each way. From Canada, down through the Rockies, Midwest, California, and Texas - All to experience the warm embrace of central Mexican mountains.” Do these routes sound familiar yet? Yes, I thought so. 

I’ve lost a lot of brave butterflies along the way - Hector, Abuelito Pepino aka “Papi Pi”, Layo, Pedro - the man who took the training wheels off my first bike, and countless others. And two Thanksgivings ago, I almost lost my dad. So I know that feeling of hopelessness very well, and its cynic cold caress. And while I accept that I can’t bring my loved ones back down to Earth, I can sure honor them by celebrating their lives. Because I believe a person lives on as long as you keep their memory ablaze. WHICH IRONICALLY brings me to a BIKE - while I can’t match Hector’s mountain biking obsession, Abuelo’s love for Willie Nelson's “On The Road Again,” drive a tractor, or reverse park a semi with my eyes closed. I can kind of pedal... or train to pedal 4,500 miles to Alaska - and that's my commitment to them and to others experiencing similar situations or feelings of helplessness. I will be your designated LOE ("Legs On Earth") and make that monarch migratory trip back home - for you, your stories, and your memories.

Yours in the fight,
Vuelen Alto - ʚїɞ - Besos y Abrazos

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