Northwest alumna named Iowa’s History Teacher of the Year

A Northwest Missouri State University alumna recently was recognized for her outstanding work as an educator and named Iowa’s History Teacher of the Year.

Gina Haag Kutilek graduated from Northwest in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in social science. She now teaches social studies and American Sign Language at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Established in 2004, the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s History Teacher of the Year program recognizes excellence in the teaching of history at the K–12 level. Each year, thousands of teachers are nominated by students, parents, fellow teachers and community members. Kutilek received $1,000 as Iowa’s winner.

Gina Haag Kutilek

“It was a really nice affirmation that I was doing something well, that I was good at what I do,” Kutilek said. “I was really surprised but also really pumped. It was my last two weeks of my master’s program, so it was a really nice boost for my motivation. I was surprised when I saw the email and read it several times before believing it was true.”

Kutilek – who also was selected as a 2024 James Madison Fellow for Iowa, a program supporting educators teaching American history, government and civics – says her coursework at Northwest prepared her well for her career as an educator. Her time as a supplemental instruction leader also sparked her interest in helping students understand complex material.

“Thanks to the history and humanities professors at Northwest, I had a much deeper understanding of history than other student teachers I have worked with since graduating,” said Kutilek, who recently completed a master’s degree in history and government, which has further enhanced her teaching.

“I remember my cooperating teacher was impressed that I knew my content really, really well. I think Northwest’s history department is really good at pushing the importance of deeply understanding the content to allow students to craft a compelling argument – that helped me not only in teaching but in my master’s degree. I became way better at writing and researching.”

In the classroom, Kutilek said she works hard to engage students with historical events.

“I try to switch things up as much as possible,” Kutilek said. “I want my students to know that history is not a bunch of dead people and dates to memorize. There’s a lot from history that’s really relevant to our lives today. It’s dramatic, it’s exciting, it’s sad. There’s a lot of different feelings that they can feel if they truly learn our history.”

Kutilek reflects fondly on some of the Northwest faculty members who had the biggest impact on her, including Marcy Roush, a former instructor of English and modern languages, and the late Daniel Smith, who served as an assistant professor of political science in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

She added that Dr. Robert Voss, an associate professor of history in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, has continued to support her with networking opportunities, and he wrote a letter of recommendation as she was applying for graduate school.

“Even though I graduated 10 or 11 years ago, it’s something where your teachers believe in you beyond your graduation day,” Kutilek said.