GIVING BACK

Lela Gillmann Finds

Fulfillment Teaching And Coaching In Tipton Schools

golf team, we had three different coaches. It was a challenging few years, but I think those years helped me become the coach and person I am today.”

Tipton High School prepared Gillmann to be competitive. “Graduating from Tipton made me strong, high-achieving, and independent in the classroom and within athletics,” she says.

Gillmann went on to obtain her masters from Western Governors University in 2021 in curriculum and instruction, and in 2022 was named an Outstanding Career Educator from the IU Kokomo School of Education.

Currently, Gillmann is in her fifth year of teaching second grade at Tipton Elementary, is the women’s varsity basketball coach, and is in her fifth year of coaching middle school golf. Her drive and success as a coach started when she coached middle school volleyball, sixth-grade basketball and, eventually, junior-varsity basketball.

Above all, Gillmann loves giving back to her students and athletes, and instilling values of what it means to be a Tipton Blue Devil. “Having pride in our community, working hard and creating relationships is important at every level,” she says. “I have my first group of students that are now in sixth grade that come back and chat, and I really enjoy seeing how much they have grown.”

As a coach, Gillmann has enjoyed working with athletes on the mental and physical aspects of the game. “Talking and understanding that both sides of the game are extremely important - I hope that if I can help a middle schooler or high schooler understand that, then they can carry that into life and do big things,” she says.

Gillmann notes that her parents, along with Paul Stowers, have been a huge influence on her life. “My mom coached me since I was in kindergarten and I’m not sure my dad missed many, if any, games growing up,” she says. “They have made me the person I am today. Paul Stowers also made an impact on my return to coach and teach at Tipton. From a young age I watched him coach, love the game of basketball, the town of Tipton, and invest in the athletes of Tipton schools. I admire him in all aspects of life as his encouragement and support is something I will never forget.”

It has always been a dream of Gillmann’s to teach and coach, but it was ultimately the Tipton community that brought her home. “I want to give back to all the people that invested in my academic and athletic career,” she says. Gillmann’s family was also a draw to stay local.

“My parents are Mike and Laurie Crawford,” she says. “They both graduated from Tipton High School and own a golf course in Tipton County. I also was married on that golf course last October to Austin Gillmann. Tipton is my home and what made me who I am, and I hope I can instill those same values into kids now. I want to help them be a better person and prepare them for the next step in life, whatever that may be.”

Olivia Gonzalez truly embodied the term ‘student-athlete’ while at Tipton High School, and then some. The 2016 Tipton graduate was part of National Honor Society, student council, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and also topped off her high school career by graduating top 10 in her class.

Athletically, Gonzalez was on the varsity basketball and softball team, both of which saw success. She was part of the 2014 sectional and regional championship team in basketball, and part of the conference title team in softball. She also received an all-conference award two years in a row, and, perhaps most important, the mental attitude award.

After graduating from Tipton, Gonzalez attended Taylor University where she played softball and majored in biology with a concentration in pre-medicine.

“The biggest part of being a studentathlete in college was knowing when to buckle down and stay focused, and when to let loose and relax,” Gonzalez says. “Fortunately and unfortunately, I was one of the two pre-med majors on the softball team, so there were several times that I had to remind myself of my goals and to stay focused.”

Gonzalez remembers bus rides full of euchre and karaoke on the way home from games while she and her teammate, the other pre-med major, were hitting the books. She admits that being disciplined in her studies and athletics was the hardest