FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Friends say Kevin Iglesias had found his calling at Glasgow Middle School in service to others. And they say that purpose with which he lived his life makes his passing even more painful.
"His last years here with us, he spent it doing something he loved the most," said Abby Ponce, who grew up with Iglesias, sharing every school from kindergarten to college.
Ponce said 28-year-old Iglesias didn't set out to become a teacher, but found the profession out of a desire to help others. He died unexpectedly at the end of August, when he injured his head in a fall.
"It was never about money for him," she said. "He was never anybody chasing after a paycheck, but he really did just want to find purpose. And I can confidently say that he had found that purpose."
Iglesias was an award winning special education teacher at Glasgow Middle, in the same Fairfax County district where he went to school. Ponce said he was well known as a teacher who would always advocate for his students.
"His students needed special accommodations during quarantine when everybody was online that no one even thought about," Ponce said. "And so he was especially passionate about having people understand, having people always think about about his community and making sure that they were taken care of."
In 2019, just a couple of years into his first job, the Fairfax County Special Education PTA awarded Kevin with the "Outstanding Support Staff."
"I kind of want to think more on the positive side and and know the impact that he caused on these children, because he really did go in every day wanting to make it very special for them, care for them," Ponce said. "He'll definitely be missed by his family and and by his students."
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