At the very beginning of the fall 2024 semester, Moraine Valley political science professor Kevin Navratil had to take some time off from teaching. In August, he lost a member of his family – his father.

Navratil describes his father as someone he looked up to and talked to everyday. Alongside his brother, Navratil was able to be with his father in his last moments, able to hold his hand as he went peacefully. It was a special moment, but a traumatic one as well.  

Navratil had a lot of time to prepare for his father’s death. He thought his father was going to die multiple times, but the dreaded event luckily never came to fruition – until it did. Navratil said he underestimated the impact losing his father would have.  

“It just feels like something’s missing,” he said. “Part of your identity just seems different. I guess I’ve had a lot of time to grapple with not having a parent, so I kind of thought I was prepared for that, and you just really never can be. It’s such a different feeling never being able to talk to them again.”

The death of his father has had a profound effect on the way Navratil interacts with his students. He says his empathy has since increased, especially when a student is dealing with the loss of a loved one themselves.

“I don’t think you can be fully as empathetic until you’ve gone through things like that yourself,” says Navratil.  

That loss was not the only hardship Navratil has faced, but he never loses his kindness and humanity, which define his approach to shaping the lives of his students and his relationships with colleagues.

As part of Moraine Valley’s very small political science staff, and with the American political climate becoming increasingly polarized, the work he does on and off campus becomes exceedingly important. He serves as coordinator of The Democracy Commitment at the college, which seeks to foster civic engagement and education in students. In 2022, Navratil was awarded Moraine Valley’s Master Educator award. 

Many of Navratil’s students know him for just a semester, but the things they learn in those mere four months, they can use on a daily basis for the rest of their lives.  

The dynamic he has with his students is one of the best parts of teaching at Moraine Valley for Navratil. He enjoys seeing them learn, have healthy debates, develop critical thinking skills and get better at speaking in front of others. But most importantly, he enjoys forming bonds with them.  

However, over the past decade, Navratil has started to see engagement in his classes decrease. He attributes this trend to the rise in smartphone and AI usage. Navratil puts a lot of thought into the content he creates for his classes and the questions he asks his students. He says it’s “depressing” when students use an AI-generated response for a question that’s meant to make them think and consider different viewpoints.  

Despite some students using AI, Navratil has seen engagement and excitement from his students begin to recover in the last few years, and he doesn’t take it for granted.  

“I have some of the best students I’ve ever had, and I’m excited to go into the classroom because of them,” he said.  

Outside of the classroom, Navratil enjoys spending time with his family. He met his wife during graduate school, and they had many things in common such as interest in political science, sports and music. They have shared priorities, values and support for each other’s careers and families.  

Together, they have a young daughter. On the fifth day after she was born, the Navratils’ phone rang. 

“I remember the call like it was yesterday,” he said. “It was our pediatrician telling us basically we needed to go to (the hospital). It was terrifying. When we were in the hospital, looking around the lobby, I think I had tears in my eyes. It was very humbling and scary.”  

As it turned out, Navratil’s daughter had a serious medical condition. Navratil recalls one specific day he and his wife rushed her to the hospital, describing it as the worst scare they’ve ever had with her condition. 

“I pick her up from school, she falls asleep on the way home, and she’s falling asleep on my arms after we get out of the car – she’s laying on me – and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t right.’”

The Navratils got into the car and drove. They got on Lake Shore Drive and traffic wasn’t moving. In the backseat, their daughter was throwing up, and once they got to the emergency room, it was full.

They called their daughter’s teacher to make sure everything had been okay earlier in the day at school. At the front desk, hospital staff were asking for their health insurance and information, but he said it felt like a “ticking time bomb.”

As it turned out, there was a stomach bug going around at school. Once Navratil’s daughter started receiving treatment, she began recovering quickly.  

Despite her condition, Navratil is grateful for how well his daughter is doing. She hasn’t had much trouble with her condition, and she does a lot of things kids in the same position wouldn’t normally be able to do. 

Navratil’s colleagues appreciate the way he maintains his empathy and positive outlook in the face of adversity.

During summer 2024, Moraine Valley lost a beloved member of its community, librarian Joe Mullarkey. Mullarkey’s death was unexpected and took a toll on many. On the day of Mullarkey’s wake, Navratil, history professor Merri Fefles-Dunkle and fellow political science professor Deron Schreck recorded a podcast together, then traveled to the wake and went out for dinner afterwards. On what was a “bittersweet” day, Flefles-Dunkle said Navratil was supportive and caring. 

“He has all the qualities you want in a friend,” she said. “He is generous with his time, a patient person, thoughtful – he thinks before he speaks, he’s deliberate in his actions – and just a kind person.”  

Although he is a political science professor, Navratil wasn’t always extremely interested in politics and government to begin with either. He attributes his pivot that took place later in his undergraduate work to the famous, controversial 2000 presidential election. Originally, Navratil was a researcher.  

When he first took the job at Moraine Valley, he didn’t know much about the school, but loved the campus and smaller classroom sizes. Since, Navratil has realized the fulfillment of helping students – how engaging and rewarding it is. Simply, researching didn’t feel nearly as meaningful as helping beginning students at a community college.  

When Navratil was in school, he says he was a “knucklehead.” He didn’t necessarily expect to become a college professor, but for Navratil, “education was transformative.” 

Ultimately, he just wants his students to have the same experience.  

---

PHOTOS BY KEVIN NAVRATIL