Two Tippecanoe School Corporation teachers have earned one of Indiana's most prestigious honors for educators—a Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowship. This will give them an opportunity to pursue professional passions abroad and return to their classrooms with renewed energy and fresh perspectives.

Samantha Wagner, choir teacher at Harrison High School, will travel to Hawaii in July to explore the ukulele and Hawaiian folk music, deepening a passion that began years ago when she taught herself to play through YouTube videos. What started as personal curiosity has become a classroom favorite, helping her students connect through music while giving Wagner her own creative outlet.

Through the fellowship, Wagner plans to trace the instrument back to its cultural roots. She'll meet with Hawaiian music historians and composers, attend the Hawaiian Ukulele Festival in Waikiki and tour local ukulele factories. A weeklong ukulele retreat will immerse her in both performance techniques and cultural traditions.

Wagner will commission an original piece blending Hawaiian and Western musical traditions and bring her learning directly to students. "I will organize a ukulele workshop, teaching them basic chords and introducing them to key elements of Hawaiian music and culture," she says. "This hands-on experience will not only deepen their musical skills, but also broaden their cultural understanding."

Megan Zwolanek, choir teacher at Battle Ground Middle School, will spend her summer in Portugal, immersing herself in the country's music, culture and history while reconnecting with her own love of performing.

Zwolanek will collaborate with a Portuguese ethnomusicologist, a scholar who studies music within its cultural and historical context, and join a choral performance tour across Portugal led by world-renowned conductor and composer Greg Gilpin. The tour includes performances in historic churches and castles across more than 10 cities, giving Zwolanek the chance to step back onto the stage herself.

Returning to live performance is central to her renewal. "Experiencing the excitement and nerves of performing again will help me better understand what my students feel and remind me why music matters," Zwolanek says. Along the way, she'll visit historic landmarks, learn from local guides and experience traditional Portuguese fado, a traditional, soulful music genre, as well as the country's contemporary music scene.

She plans to return to Battle Ground with new musical ideas, cultural connections and a deeper sense of authenticity. "I hope this experience will renew my creativity and energy and allow me to bring a fresh perspective back to the classroom and my choral program," she says.

Wagner and Zwolanek join a select group of Indiana educators chosen for Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowships this year. The prestigious fellowships recognize that teachers who have opportunities for personal and professional renewal bring fresh energy, deeper knowledge and renewed passion back to their classrooms.