Patrick Aguilar- he/him

Mr. Aguilar

Social Studies

paguilar@sierraacademy.net

Patrick joined the SAEL team in 2023 after completing his teacher prep program while working in Nevada County. Patrick is a 4th generation Nevada county resident, born and raised in the community. He attended Union Hill Elementary before moving to Nevada Union High School. After graduating, he attended UC Santa Cruz as a member of Kresge College, researching and engaging with issues of power and representation in politics and media. He majored in history with an emphasis on East Asian history and was awarded the Linda Peterson Award for excellence in academic writing for his work on cross-cultural communication via translation between languages. His M.Ed. research emphasized strategies for fostering critical thinking and media literacy skills in students.

Patrick comes from a long family history of civil service in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area, including family members who have participated in local politics at the administrative and judicial levels. He previously worked at the Woolman Semester School as well as Sierra Nevada Children’s Services. This culture of service ultimately inspired Patrick to pursue teaching as a means to serve his community in a way that cultivates positivity and awareness. He believes that an empowering education focused on skills and growth is the foundation for effective civil participation and personal growth that can endure for a lifetime. He feels lucky to have found SAEL and to support the EL Educaiton mission.

When not teaching, Patrick enjoys playing and recording music, having played guitar since he was 9-years-old. He also enjoys games of all kinds, from Dungeons and Dragons to the myriad card games his family would play together while camping or enduring power outages. Other ventures include martial arts/MMA, weightlifting, and long research sessions to satiate new, ever-evolving curiosities.