Miguel Antonio Sandoval was born on June 20th, 2359 just outside the city of Zacatecoluca, a provincial capital of he Departameno' de la Paz of El Salvador on Earth. Miguel was the 4th of seven children born to Francesco and Mirabella Sandoval, both lifetime residents of the city.

His father, Francesco was a trusted member of the local Council' de Educacion', while Mirabella was primarily a homemaker.

Life in El Salvador has changed little in the last 300 years. While the historical problems of poverty and illiteracy have been largely solved by the miracles of modern technology, the residents of this lovely coastal nation still prefer the slow-paced lifestyle of old, and have little to do with the hustle and bustle of the Federation as a whole.

Miguel Antonio, (as he is commonly called) grew up running barefoot among the dusty backroads of Zacatecoluca's outskirts playing pick up games of Street Soccer, or swimming in the nearby Rio Lempa. The El Salvador terrain is a mix of steep volcanic mountains dropping sharply into a narrow coastal plain, so Miguel Antonio learned to appreciate the variety his surroundings offered him.

As a teen, Miguel Antonio first became interested in the ecology of his nation's native plant life. El Salvador had been heavily deforested in the 20th and 21st centuries, and only now was a concerted effort being made to repopulate its once lush plant life. Botany experts from around the Federation descended on El Salvador to offer input into the long-term recovery project.

As a member of a High School Science Club, Miguel became heavily involved in the re-forestation project, and would have probably gone on to serve in that capacity as a civilian worker after graduation were it not for a chance meeting with a member of Starfleet who was acting as consultant on the Project.

The Science Officer spoke of the myriad of lush alien worlds he had visited during his service, which opened the eyes of young Miguel to the opportunities outside of his tiny country. He decided the best way to aid his homeland was to join Starfleet and gain access to their limitless scientific resources himself. After an intensive period of study Miguel Antonio was accepted into Starfleet Academy in 2377, where he double majored in Botany and Ecology.

He graduated in 2381 hoping to be reassigned back to the El Salvador Reforestation project......but like always Starfleet had other ideas, and he was assigned to the USS Galaxy.

More comfortable with his beloved plants, Miguel Antonio is slightly suspicious around aliens, and tends to give them wide berth when possible.

He is generally clueless (or just doesn't care) about Galactic Politics, and instead sees the Galaxy as his own personal Botany research lab.