Mr. Arana has been teaching at Preuss for five years and he is a beloved faculty member of the Preuss School UC San Diego. He attended UC San Diego for his bachelor’s degree however he finished at San Diego State University. Mr. Arana originally wanted to be a college professor but instead took a job here at the Preuss School.

When Mr. Arana was a kid, he attended a charter school that was unfulfilling and had known about Preuss because of our diverse community of students. He believed that it was a perfect example of what a charter school should look like. He said that the population of this school is what makes Preuss a unique school.

“I don’t think I would trade this population of students for another school’s population,” said Mr. Arana. “Teaching this sort of population is what is important to me: low income students, first generation students,”

Mr. Arana enjoys teaching at this school but his dream is to become a college professor. He is also working towards completing his PhD.

“I would first be teaching at San Diego State,” speculates Mr. Arana. “ I’d probably be a TA there first, but hopefully I get an early entrance since I already have a masters. I can already teach the writing classes,”

During our interview, Mr. Arana was being greeted by students that were passing by. Although Mr. Arana is the 7th grade English teacher, many students of every grade admire him. Students enjoy being in his class and appreciate the way he teaches.

“He was the teacher who would make the class fun or interesting for the students,” said Emmy Nong (‘25).

Many students appreciate him very much; he affected the lives of many students, especially during a time of need. When we first started remote learning, many people were upset and confused. Students had to adjust to learning online. One student said that Mr. Arana helped make the experience better.

“I know not just for me but like every student, we were going through a lot online and we were struggling,” says Audrae Castillo (‘25), “ and he kind of just, like, made it known that he was there as a support system both for his class and just in general if you needed it.”

Mr. Arana is a support system to many and to others he is a funny and reasonable teacher. Mr. Arana plays a crucial role at our school and has known about Preuss for many years.