Sonya Snow Transitions from Preschool Parent to Dutilh Preschool Teacher Aide

-Published in 2021-

Sonya Snow is a familiar face to many at Dutilh Church and Preschool – especially for those with children. Snow will join the staff this fall as the teacher aide in Dutilh Preschool’s Pre-K class, working alongside lead teacher Amanda Heilman.

Snow is a native of Mechanicsburg, PA, and attended the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. She initially studied education, but changed her major partway through junior year and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and Communications. After graduation, Snow worked as an event planner for four years and then returned to school at Duquesne University, where she earned a master’s degree in Corporate Communications. She spent the next five years in the corporate world before she decided to stay home full-time with her children.

Sonya met her husband, Lance, at work. They married in 2004 and have four children: Tyler (14), Logan (11), Conner (9), and Hayley (6). They’ve lived in Cranberry Township since the early 2000s, and first found Dutilh Church via their son Tyler, who attended Dutilh Preschool.

“We loved the preschool, and we really liked the children’s programming at the church,” Snow explained. The family sent all four kids to Dutilh Preschool; daughter Hayley just graduated from the Pre-K class in 2020.

An active member at Dutilh, Snow has volunteered in the church’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) program since 2010 and has served as part of Dutilh’s Children’s Ministry Team since 2017. She has also provided childcare for preschool-age children in Dutilh’s MOPS ministry since 2017. During the 2019-2020 academic year, Snow was a substitute teacher at Dutilh Preschool.

For the last year and a half, Snow has also worked part-time as an online English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher for VIPKid, which teaches English to Chinese children, ages 5 – 13. While she loves teaching and has enjoyed the online environment, Snow is eager to get back into a physical classroom.

“I had so much fun subbing at the preschool last year,” Snow said. “It’s wonderful to watch the kids grow in their confidence as they learn and discover something new. I love to see their development over the year.”

Snow’s enthusiasm for being at Dutilh Preschool is mirrored by Director Julie Willoughby.

Willoughby said, “Sonya’s dedicated years to serving in the Children’s Ministry at Dutilh and her servant heart make her a perfect fit for our Dutilh Preschool family. We are honored to have her expertise in teaching children about God and all of the many other gifts she brings to our team. I am looking forward to the dynamic collaboration she and our Pre-K teach, Amanda, will create to help our children learn and grow this fall!”

Senior Pastor Tom Parkinson was equally enthusiastic. He said, “Sonya’s warm smile, gentle spirit, and servant’s heart will be a rich blessing to the students and families of Dutilh Preschool. We are excited to add her to our preschool ministry team.”

In her (admittedly limited) free time, Snow loves running, reading, and scrapbooking. The Snow family enjoys anything outdoorsy, Snow says, and they have fun together hiking, spending time at their pool, and making s'mores.

To find out more about Dutilh Preschool or register your child for the fall, check out https://dutilhchurch.org/dutilh-preschool-1.