Nallely Cabrales was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States at the age of 2. Like many Mexican immigrants, hoping for a better life, Nallely’s mother decided to attempt to move to the United States. During this attempt, Nallely and her mother were forced to spend a week on the border surrounded by snakes, coyotes, and other dangerous animals. Fortunately, she emerged from that experience perfectly healthy, eventually settling in San Francisco. While Nallely struggled initially with attempts to fit in and culturally assimilate, she feels that she has finally learned to adapt herself to the “American” life. She recently graduated from Gateway High School and will be attending San Francisco State University in the fall. Nallely also hopes to eventually become an immigration attorney to advocate for undocumented immigrants such as herself.

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Nallely is currently placed within Asociacion Mayab, an organization that seeks to create opportunities for the Yucatec Maya community in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is helping to create and implement the Maya Youth Summer Program that seeks to educate children of their Maya background and also seeks to integrate them within the Maya community. She is also assisting with the adult ESL program. To increase the impact of this organization, she has collaborated with others to increase outreach through new distribution materials and methods.