Maria Clements was born March 31, 1987 in College Park, Maryland. Following graduation from Middletown High School in 2005, she studied at Coastal Carolina University for one year and then transferred to Hood College. Before she had an opportunity to finish her Communications degree at Hood, she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked in the restaurant industry perfecting her leadership and management skills. In the fall of 2012, she returned to Hood for her final year. Her public relations background led her to Orange Financial where she completed a media relations internship. Following graduation in May 2013, she will return to her home in Mason, Ohio where her partner Rachel, her golden-retriever Boulder, and tuxedo cat Chirp await her return.