TRAFALGAR – Indiana Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith has announced that Indian Creek Senior High School is an award recipient of the 2026 NLGA Lt. Governors’ STEM Scholarship Program. NLGA will award the school $1,000 as part of a national call for applications for funding STEM programming and curriculum in schools.
“STEM learning gives high school students the chance to apply ideas with their own hands, turning abstract concepts into real‑world understanding,” said Lt. Governor Beckwith. “Through innovative concepts like Indian Creek’s design lab, students can develop the curiosity and confidence that prepare them for future careers.”
Indian Creek High will use the STEM funding to support the CREEK Design Lab, a self-sustaining, student-run business located within the High School that integrates STEM learning with authentic design, engineering, and production experiences. Students develop practical experiences for future careers, with students first learning foundational STEM and business concepts through classroom instruction, then applying those skills in real-world practice. Accounting students manage inventory systems, calculate production costs, and analyze sales data. Students in design and manufacturing classes develop innovative products using engineering design principles. And the older students act as business mentors to the younger students, helping them learn the classroom skills necessary to run the Design Lab. NLGA’s STEM Scholarship funding will support the purchase of a 3-D printer, expanding the lab’s design, prototyping, and manufacturing capabilities.
NLGA opened the application period for the STEM Scholarship Program in January 2026. The application process was competitive, with NLGA receiving 135 requests for STEM funding from schools in 27 states and territories. Twelve schools in 12 states and territories were awarded $500 – $1,000 for STEM-related expenses.
“As the seconds-in-command in state and territorial government, lieutenant governors are uniquely poised to lead on STEM education,” said NLGA Executive Director Kellie Rittershausen. “By supporting STEM-related activities in schools across the country for the fifth year in a row, NLGA is encouraging a long-term interest and passion in STEM in America’s youth.”
The Scholarship Program is administered by NLGA, the nonpartisan, nonprofit association for the nation’s seconds-in-command, and sponsored by ACT, the education and career readiness nonprofit.
Public, private, and tribal schools serving pre-K–12th-grade students in the 50 states and five U.S. territories were invited to apply for funding to support STEM-related activities, programming, curriculum, equipment, and other expenses. Funding will be provided to all winning schools in April/May.
Additional information about the STEM Scholarship Program is available at https://nlga.us/stem-scholarship-program/.
