By Jane Charmelo
Elmhurst University recently announced that alumnus Victor Gόmez was chosen as the Illinois State Board of Education 2025 Teacher of the Year. Attending a May 22 celebration of graduating seniors and alumni were (left to right) 2024 Teacher of the Year Dr. Rachael Mahmood, Elmhurst University chair of the Department of Education Dr. Jeanne White and Gόmez.
Elmhurst University recently announced that the 2025 Illinois Teacher of the Year is a graduate of Elmhurst University.
Victor Gόmez graduated in 2018, and is now a bilingual educator at East and West Leyden high schools in Leyden Community High School District 212, where he teaches chemistry.
While he was unavailable for this article, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), provided information about the award winner and why he was chosen.
Gόmez received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Secondary Education from Elmhurst University in 2018, and is currently working on a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in English As a Second Language/Bilingual Education from National Louis University.
According to the ISBE, Gόmez “was at the forefront of the proposal and development of the bilingual program at East Leyden and was instrumental in launching and designing the curriculum for the schools’ first true bilingual science course, Bilingual Chemistry.”
He was chosen because he “goes above and beyond to ensure that the quality of education for multilingual students is exceptional,” according to the ISBE.
Among other efforts, Gόmez “has made a concerted effort to aid students in connecting to their linguistic and cultural heritage out of the classroom, having advocated for and collaborated with his bilingual colleagues in the creation of the Alianza Latina Club and Mariachi Aguilas de Leyden.”
Gόmez is a repeat presenter on Cultural Sustaining Practices in a Bilingual Science Classroom at the university’s STEM-Tastic Teaching Showcase Conference. He mentors future bilingual educators through a partnership with the university’s director of Secondary Education and the Noyce PRIDE STEM Teacher Scholars Program.
Also an Elmhurst University graduate, Dr. Rachael Mahmood attended the university’s May 22 celebration of graduating seniors and alumni award-winners, where she was a featured speaker and 2024 Teacher of the Year.
(At this event, Gόmez received the Feldman Leadership Award from the university’s Education Department.)
Mahmood—a graduate of the university’s Master of Education in Teacher Leadership Program—has taught in the Indian Prairie School District for the last 20 years.
The Downers Grove native said that while her parents were both physicians and “my dad had his heart sent on me being a doctor… I pretty much always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I am not sure why.”
However, she continued, she didn’t feel there were “representations of my identity” in school, explaining that her mother is Russian Jewish and her father is an Indian Hindu.
Mahmood recalled that while taking an educational psychology course, she learned about multicultural education, and “I knew what my mission was. To be a teacher who validated and affirmed students’ identities in school.
“From that day forward I learned everything I could about multicultural education and seized every opportunity to lead in that space.”
She said she chose Elmhurst University because “their program was rigorous,” adding that she knew the Teacher Leader Leadership Program would offer “the cutting edge of education.”
“I enjoy innovating and creating frameworks and theories. I liked the philosophy that you don’t need a position to be a leader, but you can choose to lead by how you innovate and be on the forefront of redesigning what education looks like for our future generations,” Mahmood said.
She went on to get a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University.
Mahmood said that it has been “such an honor to be Illinois’ Ambassador for the teaching profession,” and that she has enjoyed meeting other educators from around Illinois.
“I have learned the greatest strength of our teachers is the love they bring to our schools and communities. I am excited to pass the baton on to Victor. I know he will do an amazing job representing educators across the state,” she concluded.
Jeanne White, Ed.D., chair of the Department of Education at Elmhurst University, commented on these Teacher of the Year awardees being Elmhurst University graduates: “By having teachers from Elmhurst University win this achievement, it means that we have top-notch programs and preparing teachers to be the best of the best.”
ISBE awards
Since 1970, the Illinois State Board of Education has sponsored Those Who Excel and Teacher of the Year awards “to honor educators who have made significant contributions to our state’s public and non-public elementary and secondary schools.”
Awards are presented in seven categories—Classroom teachers, early career educators (one to four years), school administrators, student support personnel, educational service personnel, community volunteers and teams; and applications are reviewed by a selection committee consisting of individuals from a variety of educational organizations.
Each year the awardees are honored at an annual banquet held in the spring.