The long road back to preschool

On the surface, San Diego State University seniors Ana Angel Aguilar and Sophie Vratsinas share little in common. 

One is a 39-year old parent from an immigrant family in San Diego. 

The other came straight to SDSU from high school in suburban Iowa. 

Yet as as students in San Diego State University's Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) — a new accelerated pathway that combines a bachelor's in child development and an early childhood special education teaching credential in just four years — they’re bound by a deeply personal aspiration to make a difference for young children with disabilities.

Part of a tight-knit group of ITEP candidates who text outside of class and help each other stay grounded during their intensive preparation, Aguilar and Vratsinas are about to be forever linked as the first-ever graduates of the program. And as they prepare to embark on careers as preschool special education teachers this fall, it's starting to sink in that everything they've worked for is coming to fruition.

"I’m really excited,” said Vratsinas, who had already accepted an offer for a teaching position. “But I'm nervous.”

Added Aguilar: "I haven't processed it, but I do get emotional and teary because this was my dream. I didn't know there were going to be so many bumps along the way, but I’ll finally get to say ‘I did it.’"

‘Like a tattoo’

The daughter of undocumented immigrants from Mexico, Aguilar had a childhood marked by hardship. Her family experienced extreme poverty, even living at the St. Vincent DePaul Village shelter in downtown San Diego for nearly a year.

While she didn’t have much in the way of material comfort, she did have a dream — one that was sparked by her preschool teacher, Miss Marlene.

“Kindness and love, empathy and warmth — that's what I felt from my preschool experience,” Aguilar recalls. “Since then, I always wanted to be a preschool teacher who could give that to young kids."

But barriers — some systemic, some personal — stood in the way. Her immigration status, since resolved, initially kept her from becoming a teacher. Even without that hurdle, she didn’t have the money to attend college. At 19, she became a mother and began building her family before pursuing higher education.

Despite the detour, Aguilar says her dream to teach stayed with her “like a tattoo.”

In her mid-20s, Aguilar set out to earn her degree. But her path was repeatedly disrupted by personal hardships — a divorce, her father’s deportation, the loss of a close friend to violence, and a family member’s mental health crisis.

“Every time some big event happened, it affected my education,” Aguilar said. “I went into this depression — this hole I couldn't get out of."

Finally, in 2021, Aguilar began the process of climbing out. The first step was enrolling in San Diego Mesa College at age 33. 

She was guided into SDSU through the Developing Effective Bilingual Educators with Resources (DEBER) scholars program. After transferring, she chose to focus on early childhood special education — in part because of the mental health situation she faced in her own family.

“It made me realize kids need more support,” Aguilar explained. “I also speak Spanish and I feel like a lot of (Spanish-speaking) families don't understand their rights when they have a special needs child. So I want to help families, too."

And when she walks across the Commencement stage on May 16, her son will be cheering her on.

"Since he was little, I've been in school,” Aguilar said. “He's 20 now, so with graduation he's like, "Finally, Mom!" But I always tell him, 'Don't give up on your dreams.'"

A proud copycat

Sophie Vratsinas was inspired to pursue special education by her love for her older brother Michael, who is autistic. Michael, who himself has worked in special education classrooms and has trained at the University of Iowa to become a paraprofessional, sees it a little differently.

“He likes to say I'm copying him,” Sophie said with a smile. “But the experience with Michael’s diagnosis had a lot of influence in my childhood and my upbringing, just seeing how much of an impact that services and support can have on a family. It really made me want to be part of that change and that support."

Vratsinas’ dedication is evident in the load she has taken on. Her academic journey has been intense: she’s a member of the Weber Honors College, pursuing a minor in interdisciplinary studies and is an ITEP student, which condenses five years of study into four years. . In fall 2024, she was taking an astounding 21 units.

She’s made it work through the support of program coordinator Janice Chan, who she calls “the top dog of mentors,” as well as SDSU’s Project Perspectives scholarship, which Aguilar also received.

“I don't think I'd be where I am today without her,” Vratsinas said. “She was the one who recommended me for the program. She was the one who helped me figure out all the scholarships and how I was going to get a job after I graduate. 

“She made me feel like there was time and space for me to figure it out.”

This semester, Vratsinas has been completing her student teaching at Chase Avenue Elementary School in El Cajon. It’s gone so well that she will join the staff there this fall as a transitional kindergarten educational specialist.

“I’d loved making a difference in children's lives and being there and interacting with them,” she said. “But I’ve also liked connecting with families and parents and caregivers on a different level, and finding that balance between personal and professional. As a teacher, it's constantly finding that balance, but I’ve shared my own story with families since I don't have much teaching experience and that has helped build a connection.

”It’s honestly been better than I could have imagined.”