BHS Spanish Teacher Selected for Lilly Creativity Fellowship

Judd Klingerman's selected project will take him to Madrid, Spain, for six weeks this summer.

(Batesville, Ind.) - Batesville High School (BHS) Spanish teacher Judd Klingerman has been named a recipient of a 2025 Teacher Creativity Fellowship from Lilly Endowment Inc., announced principal Andy Allen. The Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program (TCFP) supports educators throughout Indiana by providing resources to pursue educational goals while taking time for meaningful renewal.

“This fellowship is a tremendous opportunity for one of our teachers to learn, grow, and impact others,” said Allen. “I’m excited for him to immerse himself in the Spanish culture in Madrid and to use his experiences there to shape his teaching style when he returns.”

Through the TCFP program, full-time education professionals in Indiana who have daily face-to-face interaction with students in Indiana’s public, private, and charter schools are eligible to submit fellowship proposals. The program’s mission is to provide funding for intentional experiences that would restore educators’ enthusiasm for their profession and stimulate their creativity, which should, in turn, enhance the educational experiences of their students.

Klingerman’s selected project, “Becoming Madrileño: A Cultural Immersion and Volunteer Experience,” will take him to Madrid, Spain, for six weeks this summer. Through a variety of hands-on volunteer experiences and immersive study of both language and religious practices in the city, he hopes to experience Madrid through the eyes of its residents, known as Madrileños.

“I studied abroad in Spain while I was in college,” Klingerman explained, “but I have desired to experience it in a more meaningful way for more than a decade. Now that I am a high school Spanish teacher, I want to be able to convey to my students what living there is really like for residents. I would compare my previous study abroad experience to viewing and appreciating a beautiful piece of art in a museum, standing close to it for a short time, but still removed from the piece itself (the culture of Madrid). This opportunity through TCFP will allow me to experience what it is like to be a part of the Madrid masterpiece itself. I can then share those life lessons with my students for years to come.”

Klingerman’s project will focus on Madrid’s culture and how three different religious groups—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—worship and serve others in the city. Week-long social outreach volunteer opportunities with each group will allow him to go behind the scenes, connecting with religious leaders for insight. As his time in Spain ends, he hopes to bring the three religious leaders together for dialogue and reflection on their coexistence in the capital. In preparation for the trip, Klingerman will take the next four months to plan the details of his itinerary—and to learn Arabic and Hebrew.

“If I want to engage as a Madrileño, I must have a rudimentary understanding of the languages embraced by these religions,” Klingerman said. “It’s a good thing I love studying languages because it’s going to be a busy few months as I prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

For a portion of the time that Klingerman is immersing himself in life in Madrid this summer, some of his current Spanish 3 students will also be in various locations throughout Spain, participating in a study abroad program through the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Language (IUHPFL). The last few days of their experience will land them in Madrid, where Klingerman hopes to connect with them before they return to the United States.

“Since I will have been there for quite some time before they spend the last days of their time abroad exploring Madrid, I want to take them to sites that a typical tour guide wouldn’t,” he shared. “They will have time to visit the must-see sites, but I hope to show them a few favorites of the Madrileños as well. And, of course, true to the IUHPFL program’s rules, all of our conversations will be in Spanish. It should be an amazing summer of opportunity for the BHS Spanish department, and I’m grateful to the Lilly Endowment’s Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program for granting me this opportunity.”

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.