Sonia Aguila, a Santa Barbara native, was just 5 years old when her parents told her that her grandfather was sick and the whole family needed to move back to Mexico. Aguila was just about to start kindergarten and was so excited to go to school. “I even had my backpack,” she recalled. But the family did move to Mexico and didn’t return to the States until Aguila was 11. By then, Aguila had forgotten most of her English, so when she entered Santa Barbara Junior High, she could only count to 10. “I remember crying,” she said. At first, she longed to return to Mexico to be with her grandma and her school friends there, “but then I decided to learn English.” And, she did. Every day during lunch, instead of eating, Aguila would go to the library and read. “I was determined to succeed,” she explained.“To learn a second language.” All her hard work and missed lunches paid off. When Aguila was about to graduate from high school, she was named her class salutatorian. That was an honor she initially declined because she was terrified of public speaking. But in the end, she delivered her speech in both Spanish and English even though her legs were shaking when she saw all the people crowded into the stadium. Aguila was a gifted student she received 17 university offers but she was only 16 years old when she graduated. She had skipped a year of schooling in Mexico, which allowed her to graduate from high school so early. Plus, she was still working on her English. She knew she wasn’t ready to leave the nest just yet. Instead, she decided to attend Santa Barbara City College. Her mother encouraged her to take her time. She would tell her, “There’s so much to learn there; you don’t need to go anywhere else.” Even with her parents’ support, her transition from high school to college remained challenging. Naturally timid, she still struggled with presentations. It didn’t help that her English-speaking skills still limited her. She scanned every syllabus to see if the class required presentations. “That was the first thing I looked at,” she recalled. “Do we have to present? Because I hated presenting.” However, it was thanks to SBCC’s Communication and Public Speaking classes that she began to emerge from her shell. If it weren’t for those classes, she said, she might have remained her quiet and reserved self. She looks back at that time, not dwelling on what once was, but proud of who she has become: “Little did I know that I was going to be in the future presenting at conferences with 6, 000 teachers.” The Extended Opportunities Programs and Services (EOPS) office at SBCC also had a profound impact on Aguila. It became her safe and welcoming place at a time when she was trying to adjust to the academic and emotional challenges of college life. She felt lonely and out of place at the campus, but at the EOPS office, where she went “every single day,” she found the support she needed to build confidence and a sense of belonging. She was especially guided by her bilingual counselor, John Diaz. “He helped me so much,” she fondly recalled. “And he had a great sense of humor.” Once Aguila found her footing at SBCC, she soared. She was even honored as the EOPS Student of the Year. And she never wavered in her decision about what to study. She wanted to be a teacher her whole life. “I knew since I was 5,” she said, recalling how she would play for hours with her dolls, pretending to be their teacher. Fast-forward many years, and Aguila has turned that dream into a reality. After completing her coursework at SBCC, she transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1997, followed by her teaching credential and master’s in education in 1998. In 2024, she completed her PhD at UTEL University. For 28 years, Aguila has been a teacher with her many accomplishments reflecting her deep dedication to education. In 2022, she was named California Bilingual Teacher of the Year, followed by the prestigious title of National Bilingual Teacher of the Year in 2023. She was also a finalist for the Santa Barbara Teacher of the Year award. Her success, she said, stems from a deep connection to her work: “I love what I do. And I feel so blessed to wake up every day and just do what I love and get paid for it.” Today, she remains deeply involved in bilingual education, continuing to inspire both students and fellow educators. She credits her time at SBCC for her accomplishments, saying, “It gave me the foundation a very strong foundation.” She continues, “It gave me the skills; it gave me the knowledge to be an educator. I learned how language empowers students.” That connection to SBCC has stayed strong through the years so much so that attending has become a family tradition. Aguila’s son went to SBCC, and her daughter just started her education there. “And I’m assuming my little one will attend there too,” she joked. And, she added, “My husband works there as well.”.
https://www.independent.com/2025/11/24/sonia-aguila-found-her-voice-at-santa-barbara-city-college/