EPCHS Alum In The Spotlight: Kevin McKeown, Class Of 1998

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — An athletic director and school administrator at another of the south suburbs’ top high schools fondly remembers his days as a student at Evergreen Park Community High School.

“What I remember most is my friends,” said Kevin McKeown, a 1998 Mustang alum and current athletic director for Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park. “I really appreciate them, many of whom I still communicate with today. They gave me a great perspective going into college.”

As a captain of the football team, McKeown’s friends “weren’t just athletes,” he said.

“The people I hung out with on weekends were gearheads, one was in the band, and the kids that came to the games,” he remembers. “The circle of friends I had came from many different cliques and groups. We still hung out, respected each other and got along.”

EPCHS during the 1990s was also a place filled with "impactful teachers," McKeown added.

“Their ability to connect with us, facilitate discussions and show us how things just made sense was amazing,” he said. “They did it in a way in which no one felt intimidated or disrespected.”

McKeown was a leader on some very successful Mustang football squads from 1994 to 1997, earning multiple IHSA playoff spots. But it’s the disappointment that came from a 3-6 1997 campaign that sticks out the most, although it did provide a valuable life lesson for McKeown and other captains on the team.

“I can’t shy away from it,” McKeown remembers. “We needed to be better leaders our senior year.”

“We made some bad decisions, and the consequences of those decisions were ear-opening for me. It was the first time I learned that my actions could let someone else down.”

Since then, McKeown has found success in every phase of his professional life.

After a year at Moraine Valley Community College, McKeown transferred to Eastern Illinois University. He walked on as a football player, but quickly found the level of play at the NCAA Division I level was far beyond his ability. After all, future NFL quarterback Tony Romo was only the backup on that particular Panthers squad.

“I recognized very quickly that to play at that level, you really needed to go above and beyond. I knew I wasn’t at that level.”

But McKeown stayed at EIU and earned a degree in social sciences in 2002. He returned to the south suburbs that year to student-teach at Oak Lawn Community High School, where he would eventually land a full-time gig.

He spent 16 years at Oak Lawn, teaching government, law and history while earning two master's degrees. He coached football and boys bowling for the Spartans until 2011, when he was named an administrator in the dean’s office. Later, he served as division chair for physical education, driver’s education, art, music and health, and eventually became the school’s athletic director.

His roles at Oak Lawn, until he left for Andrew in 2018, were so numerous that the District 229 currently has three different people handling those duties.

“I’m always grateful for the opportunities provided to challenge me in work management and instruction,” McKeown said. “As challenging as it could be, I don’t think there’s a position in education that I can’t be successful in.”

McKeown was driven to join Andrew by Superintendent Bob Nolting, who was principal when he was hired.

“It was the thinking outside the box thinking of how we can be better prepared that made perfect sense,” he said. “We have so many innovative leaders in our district, and the time and energy they dedicate is really awesome.”

While McKeown enjoys his current role at Andrew, his career goal is to become a principal.

“I could be very successful at that, and I’ve shared my desire to jump on those opportunities when they come up,” he said.