Mariela Flores

Hometown: Jonesboro, Arkansas

School: Nettleton High School

Mariela Flores is the proud daughter of immigrant parents. She will be a first-generation high school graduate and plans to attend college and major in Elementary Education. She was born and raised in Arkansas but often traveled to Mexico where her parents are originally from. She has 3 sisters and 1 brother and is the youngest of the four. She is part of the Hispanic Emerging Leadership Program from a local nonprofit and is part of Girls Enrichment from the same nonprofit. She is vice president of her school’s Spanish Club. Ever since she took English Second Language classes from an early age, it has inspired her to want to become a bilingual teacher to help any student no matter the language barrier. CHCI NextGen has inspired her to be an advocate for the improvement of the education system and to fight for the changes she wants to see in her community.