For Malibu High Student, Operation Smile More Than a Cause

At age 17, Maddy Rotman had no idea what she wanted to study as she filled out her college applications last fall.

Witnessing the transformational power of medicine on a trip last September to Cambodia with 60 doctors as part of Operation Smile, gave the senior a clear vision of what she wanted for her future: a career in public health.

Operation Smile is a non-profit organization that provides free surgeries to citizens of developing countries that have cleft lips and palates.

“They came in as the odd one out and left a changed person,” Rotman said of the surgeries offered by Operation Smile.  “ … They came out with their facial deformity completely reversed. It was completely life changing.”

Rotman, who will be attending Brown University this fall, is organizing Malibu High School’s gala to benefit Operation Smile on May 12.

The event will be held at Malibu Family Wines from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, which includes a complimentary glass of wine and hors d'oeuvres, and can be purchased online.

Rotman, who is the president of Operation Smile at MHS, encouraged Malibu residents to attend.