Following a personal calling to become an educator, John Patrick Bobek knew since his senior year of high school that he was meant to teach children, particularly in a Catholic school setting. After receiving a bachelor’s degree with minors in English and history from the University of Illinois Chicago in 1971, Mr. Bobek began his tenure at St. Daniel the Prophet School in 1973, where he has since excelled as a junior high school teacher. Concurrently, he has also thrived as a Region Two judging coordinator at the Illinois Junior Academy of Science since 2002.
Adjacent to his primary vocational efforts, Mr. Bobek is a past athletic director and former basketball coach at St. Daniel the Prophet School, serving from 2012 to 2022 and from 1976 to 1977, respectively. Likewise, he has remained a flag football coach at the school since 1975. Previously lending his expertise to the Archdiocese of Chicago as well, Mr. Bobek formerly served the Illinois Junior Academy of Science as a materials science chairperson and past president. In his leisure time, he remains civically involved with the Southside Catholic Conference, through which he has been a chairperson since 2008.
Among his many career milestones, Mr. Bobek is particularly proud of participating in a virtual science fair during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Noting that virtual or online teaching is markedly different from in-person education with different qualities, he feels rewarded to have successfully organized the virtual science fair, as well as overcame the challenges of helping his students adjust to and use the newfound technology. Moreover, Mr. Bobek derived great pleasure from his tenure as the president of the Illinois Junior Academy of Science, where he maintained charge of the state science fair. Furthermore, he has remained in touch with several of his former students over the years, often becoming friends as they reached adulthood and attending several of their weddings.
In the coming years, Mr. Bobek endeavors to write a faith-based book for individuals who wish to cultivate a closer relationship and better communication with God, particularly readers who previously did not have a deep religious background. Living and working by his mantra, “I aim to serve,” Mr. Bobek was mentored by several of his own teachers during his formative years, who introduced him to the wonderments and satisfaction of education.
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