HANCOCK COUNTY — One county educator will travel all around the United States to learn more about the Asian American experience while another is taking on the physical and mental challenge of competing in an ironman competition in the Arizona desert.
Two county teachers have been selected as part of the Lilly Endowment Inc. Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program for 2023. Fellowship recipients and their project descriptions are funded by grants of up to $12,000 each and give educators a chance to renew while pursuing their dreams.
Jennifer Lightcap, head of counseling for Eastern Hancock High School, submitted a proposal called “You are an Ironman! Rejuvenating by Reaching the Finish Line.” She was selected for the program and will now complete new challenges by finishing an ironman race in the Red Rocks and desert of Arizona.
Mt. Vernon High School teacher Yi-Fan Lin submitted a proposal called “Telling Bilingual and Bi-cultural Stories.” She was also selected to be part of the program and now plans to learn more about Asian American experiences by traveling to Chinatowns throughout the United States. Her goal is to share stories discovered in both English and Mandarin to increase the understanding of different cultures.
Now in it’s 36th year, the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program supports educators throughout Indiana by providing resources for them to take time for meaningful renewal. The endowment believes through new experiences, exploration and reflection educators can generate renewed energy in their careers, innovative approaches to teaching and educational leadership, and thoughtful ways to encourage students’ creative thinking, officials said in a release.
For the two county educators selected, they both know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore an educational opportunity, one that will help them to see their roles as educators in the community a little differently.
Lin, who teaches Mandarin, said she was pleasantly surprised to learn her idea for the program was selected.
“I’m so excited that I will be able to go on this journey to go to so many different Chinatowns and learn so many different stories,” Lin said. “I feel really fortunate and honored to get this opportunity.”
Lin plans to visit her family in Taiwan this summer for about a month and then start her adventures after that. She is hoping to visit Chinatowns in Hawaii, San Franciso, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York, starting this coming fall.
“There will be a lot of different trips, but I picked these areas because they are the biggest and some of the earliest Chinatowns in the United States,” Lin said.
In addition to bringing back a world of experiences for her students, Lin plans to go to a writing workshop as well as a writing conference to improve her English and creative writing skills.
“The plan is to find some stories in Chinatown and then write about those stories in both English and Chinese,” Lin said. “With bilingual stories, I can share them with readers here in America and with readers in Chinese speaking countries.”
Lin gets until May 2025 to complete her trips and embark on her writings.
Lightcap hopes to get her experience of training and competing in an ironman competition completed this coming fall, the week before Thanksgiving. That’s when she plans to take part in an ironman event in Arizona, something the Fellowship funds will allow her to do.
“I’m super pleased and was somewhat surprised when I learned they had selected me,” Lightcap said. “I tried to do this last year and I injured myself, but now I get another chance because of this.”
Lightcap, who turns 50 this year, noted ironman training and competing is an expensive sport with many pieces associated in getting prepared for competition, not to mention the cost of actually taking part in an event.
“I’m really not a competitive person — not a typical athlete, but I know the importance of pushing myself,” Lightcap said. “That’s the goal — to see how far I can push myself.”
Lightcap explained how the $12,000 from the Fellowship will now allow her to hire a coach, get the proper nutrition and gear she needs to train and transport herself and her bike to the race. She’ll train 15 to 20 hours from now until this summer and early fall when she’ll ramp training up to over 20 to 25 hours a week.
“It’s equivalent to a part-time job,” Lightcap said. “To do this with the coach and all the components, the money adds up pretty quickly.”
While Lightcap’s goal a couple of years ago was to complete a full ironman by the time she turned 50, foot, leg and rotator injuries from pushing herself too fast while training caused her to miss the chance last year. Still, she said finishing an ironman at age 50 will be just as rewarding.
The experience of setting a goal, missing it, but still continuing on is something she plans to use as an example and share with the students she encounters and guides every day as a counselor.
“When I talk about my experiences, I tell kids, it’s OK, they don’t have to fit a specific mold or someone else’s expectations, and just because they don’t fit the norm it doesn’t mean they can’t accomplish what they want,” Lightcap said. “I don’t even look like an athlete.”
Lightcap plans to compete with five other teammates who work out with the same coach on the north side of Indianapolis. Her husband and daughter plan to be in Arizona for the competition to help her enjoy the experience even more.
