91制片厂

Building speakers, building people: Jeff Przybylo鈥檚 30 years at 91制片厂

Jeff Przybylo has a classroom named after him at 91制片厂 and a reputation that extends far beyond campus. Described by a colleague as a 鈥渇ounding father of forensics鈥� in Illinois, he has spent 30 years guiding 91制片厂 students, building speech and debate teams and shaping a program that continues to resonate long after students leave.

After leading 91制片厂鈥檚 Speech and Debate team and teaching communications courses for three decades, Przybylo, 57, is retiring at the end of this academic year. He will continue teaching as an adjunct and remain involved with the program, but no longer as its leader. The transition marks the end of an era defined not just by competitive success, but by relationships that have endured for decades.

Under Przybylo鈥檚 leadership, 91制片厂鈥檚 team won local, state and nationwide acclaim (including national championships in 2023 and 2024) while building a network of alumni who remain deeply connected to the program and one another. He said the results have always been secondary to something more lasting.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here to catch students and build a family for them,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verything happens with that philosophy. We want to build good people, not just good speakers.鈥�

A family by design

Przybylo is not the only one who talks about family when discussing 91制片厂鈥檚 speech team. Gee Baldino, of Arlington Heights, was on the team from 2022-24 and shared their initial surprise at how students and coaches related to one another.

鈥淭he culture Jeff cultivated is so different,鈥� Baldino said. 鈥淢y team was small. We bonded and became so close. We became a family.鈥�

That approach isn鈥檛 as surprising when you learn that Przybylo was the oldest of two boys being raised by a young, divorced mother in the northwest suburbs. He describes long Saturdays at the library listening to comedy records with his brother while his mother worked restaurant shifts to support them. Comedy became a refuge. Przybylo would memorize LPs by Bob Newhart and Saturday Night Live sketches, then repeat the routines for his classmates. He liked to perform magic too.

At Forest View High School in Arlington Heights, he found that he excelled in public speaking. After Przybylo performed a passage from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Oral Communication teacher Dave Good encouraged him to join the speech team. He became a state finalist. The team became his second home.

鈥淢y mom was always working. As a server, Saturday is when my mom made her money,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just loved speech and debate. I worked hard; I listened to my coaches.鈥�

A speech scholarship brought him to Northern Illinois University, where he majored in public speaking and found another mentor in Judy Santacaterina, and another family.

鈥淛udy, my coach 鈥� like a mom to me to this day,鈥� he said.

Teaching hadn鈥檛 factored into his career plans until he realized that there weren鈥檛 many job listings for public speakers. Drawing on his ability to perform, as well as his interests in comedy and magic, he took to teaching (and coaching) as a graduate student at Illinois State University.

鈥淚 saw that I had an audience in front of me twice a week. I started to see teaching as a magic trick,鈥� he said. 鈥淧reparation is everything.鈥�

That鈥檚 a mindset he brought to 91制片厂 in 1996, when Przybylo was in his late 20s. While his focus on preparation helped him teach thousands of Speech 101 classes, his familial outlook enhanced his leadership as a speech team coach. Just as Judy and Dave had been so important to his progress, he saw himself as a surrogate parent to the students on his 91制片厂 teams. Many of the team members saw things the same way.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to see your team more than your own family sometimes,鈥� said Baldino, who also worked with Przybylo as the team鈥檚 student aide. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe how close we got.鈥�

鈥楾his guy cares!鈥�

That closeness was on full display in February of this year when 91制片厂 hosted a reunion for speech and debate team alumni on campus. With Przybylo鈥檚 upcoming retirement as a centerpiece, the event was attended by dozens, including recent 91制片厂 graduates like Baldino and speech team alumni-turned-faculty such as Theatre Instructor Ilkn眉r Ozg眉r and Assistant Professor Maham Khan.

Alumnus Jake Sadoff was on Przybylo鈥檚 first 91制片厂 team and spoke about his former coach at the event. Sadoff, who went on to co-found RESTORE Hair of Chicago with his brother (and fellow 91制片厂 alumnus) Jordan, remembers the moment he first realized what made Przybylo different. The Hoffman Estates native had joined the team before Przybylo arrived, but wasn鈥檛 a standout competitor. His new coach saw something worth investing in.

鈥淗e sat down with me and had an individual meeting,鈥� Sadoff said. 鈥淣o one had paid that much attention to me before that. I was like, 鈥楾his guy cares!鈥� He saw something in me and I鈥檝e never forgotten it.鈥�

That meeting stuck with Przybylo too, who fondly recalls the two of them hitting it off over lunch in the cafeteria. They鈥檝e since become close friends, with Sadoff returning to help advise the team over the years and Przybylo consulting for his former student鈥檚 businesses.

Sadoff said that the team was essential to him at a formative time.

鈥淚t gave me an identity. You鈥檙e 18, 19鈥� you鈥檙e trying to find your way. It gave me something to succeed in,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t taught me how to deal with nerves and speak to groups. Thirty years later, I鈥檓 still using that.鈥�

A cycle of giving back

One of the most distinctive aspects of 91制片厂鈥檚 program is the way alumni remain involved long after graduation.

Przybylo has encouraged former competitors to return as volunteer coaches, mentors and supporters 鈥� a practice that has become a defining feature of the team.

鈥淛eff created the ability for former students to come back and volunteer,鈥� Sadoff said. 鈥淗e built a program out of how much he loves this activity.鈥�

Sadoff, with his brother, established a scholarship for speech and debate students, inspired in part by a $300 scholarship he received from Przybylo as a student.

That tradition continues with students such as Baldino, who received the scholarship from the Sadoff brothers and remains connected to the program as they are about to graduate from DePaul University, via 91制片厂鈥檚 University Center, with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in communication and media studies.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a shared camaraderie,鈥� Baldino said. 鈥淓ven though I鈥檓 not on the team anymore, I feel proud when I see how well they鈥檙e doing.鈥�

鈥楢 different kind of classroom鈥�

For Przybylo, speech and debate has never been merely an activity. It is another space for students to learn, whether those spaces were on buses, in hotel ballrooms or in front of judges.

鈥淐oaching speech and debate is just a different kind of classroom,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going on the road. They鈥檙e highly motivated. It鈥檚 a different reward.鈥�

The students鈥� motivation is equaled by Przybylo鈥檚 commitment to the team, said Assistant Professor Bill Lucio, who also coaches the team.

鈥淗e refuses to take no for an answer,鈥� Lucio said. 鈥淣o matter what鈥檚 going on, Jeff finds a way to make sure students are succeeding and using their voice.鈥�

He shared an example: During the Covid-19 pandemic when competitions were disrupted nationwide, Przybylo worked with other Illinois coaches to create new formats so students could continue competing and learning virtually. Those methods are still in place now.

His enterprising nature extends to 91制片厂鈥檚 curriculum. About eight years ago, he developed a new course after being prompted by Professor Kathi Hock, 91制片厂鈥檚 Dental Hygiene program coordinator. Titled Intercultural Communication, the class blends Speech 101 with training in cultural awareness 鈥� skills critical for students entering health care fields. Przybylo said he was proud that leaders in 91制片厂鈥檚 health careers programs subsequently integrated the class into pathways for lab technicians, nurses and others.

鈥淗e sees what people are capable of in a way a lot of people can鈥檛,鈥� said Professor Margaret Bilos, a longtime colleague and fellow coach. 鈥淭he students are always his priority.鈥�

That shows up in smaller, everyday moments 鈥� marathon practices, one-on-one coaching sessions and a willingness to invest time well beyond what the job requires. Bilos said her relationship with Przybylo comes down to one word: Trust.

鈥淚 trust that he鈥檚 doing what鈥檚 best for the students and best for the program,鈥� she reflected.

What comes next

As Przybylo steps back, coaches Bilos and Lucio have already begun guiding the program forward.

鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting and scary. I mean, the man never stops. I鈥檝e never known 91制片厂 Speech and Debate in the absence of Jeff,鈥� Lucio said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to find a way to keep the Przybylo legacy, but also to make a Bilos and Lucio legacy and whoever comes after us. I think it鈥檚 going to help us grow.鈥�

Bilos speaks about the transition in more personal terms. Her friendship with Przybylo dates to before his time at 91制片厂, when he would judge her performances on the collegiate speech and debate circuit. As with other 91制片厂 professors 鈥� and Liberal Arts Dean Jaime Riewerts 鈥� Przybylo recruited Bilos to come to 91制片厂.

鈥淲hen you have a friendship with somebody the way we have a friendship, I don鈥檛 see a world where he鈥檚 not on my speed dial,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 talk to him more than I talk to my own husband for nine months at a time. He and I shared an office for 10 years. Not being able to see him, like, every day 鈥� that is going to be hard.鈥�

Though Przybylo won鈥檛 be on campus day to day, he won鈥檛 be far.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be in charge anymore,鈥� he said, smiling. 鈥淏ut I鈥檒l be around.鈥�

Przybylo has been cleaning out his office, filled with Bruce Springsteen memorabilia and photos of him as a young stand-up comic opening for Adam Sandler and Sam Kinison, and thinking back on three decades of 91制片厂 Speech and Debate teams. If he had to pick a highlight, it would be in 2016 when the team earned the Mariner Award, the most prestigious honor at the community college level because the points accumulate year over year.

The accolades have also accumulated 鈥� championships, awards and individual honors. Now, one is even named for him. The Phi Rho Pi National Tournament recently designated an award the Wheeler-Przybylo Division Team Sweepstakes Award. An honor that the 91制片厂 team has won more than 20 times, it was named after Przybylo because of his three decades of service to the national organization, including roles as tabulation staff, governor, vice president and president.

鈥�30 years of nationals in a row,鈥� he reflected. 鈥淚鈥檝e never missed one.鈥�

But he said that the real measure of success is in the students who found direction, connection and community 鈥� and who continue to carry those lessons beyond classrooms and competitions.

鈥淗e helped me regain my confidence,鈥� said Baldino, remembering a time when they were feeling overwhelmed as a student aide. 鈥淗e sat with me for a second and said, 鈥業 need you to remember how awesome you are.鈥� When I鈥檓 really doubting myself, I think about that.鈥�