The 2025 NIU Simpson Schatzle Fellows – Mikayla Chin, Segun Owele, Edwin Perez-Hernandez, Jahan Pierre and Chance Lira. Not pictured: Jimmy Panagopoulous
NIU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts has announced the first six recipients of a fellowship that will provide financial support and recognition for some of the university’s most promising graduating students in the arts.
The Simpson Schatzle Fellowship will annually support two graduates from each of the college’s three schools; the School of Art and Design, School of Music and School of Theatre and Dance.
Applicants have to meet certain academic criteria and be able to show evidence of their artistic promise, as well as provide their five artistic goals and how they plan to use the monetary award to meet those goals.
This is the first year of the fellowship, and the first six recipients are:
School of Art and Design
Edwin Perez-Hernandez, Master of Arts, Photography
“These next five years I plan on developing and enhancing my creative prowess. After graduating in May I plan to take a year to create works to expand my portfolio while developing professionally in the academic field by working in a community college in Illinois. I plan to apply to M.F.A. programs in the fall to work towards my next degree to achieve my goal in becoming a professor in higher academia.”
“My current photographic practice revolves around the topic of immigration and the effect it has on the families on both sides of the border. During my time at Northern Illinois University (NIU) as a graduate student I dedicated my time to researching this topic and utilized my own lived experiences to culminate work that exemplifies the current political issues the Mexican community is facing with threats and fears of deportation. As the political climate worsens and fear and anger grow, I am creating work that serves to alleviate the tensions and is a reminder that there are people who are facing the same fears, people who will support them in times of need, and people who remind them that they are not alone. Alongside my digital photographic practice I work with instant photography as well. With instant photography, specifically polaroids, I work to break the boundaries of what the vernacular expectations of polaroids are and to take them to a finer contemporary level.”
“I plan to photograph families here in the United States and their family in Mexico to continue the series I worked on at NIU as well as branching off and starting a series where I document individuals who plan on immigrating to show the beginning of their journey and their new lives. This fellowship would assist me in taking those first steps into achieving a position in higher academia in which I can give back to the art community as well as the Mexican community.”
Jimmy Panagopoulos, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Illustration
“My artistic goals for the next five years will focus on a couple of things. My primary goal is to continue creating my comic series, The Sleeping Debt — a story of two protagonists who stay up far too late and are now trapped in the dream realm to pay off the sleep debt they’ve accumulated. I aim for my comic series to have a deep meaning of emotional vulnerability, self-care, bonding, and the dangers of workaholism through the surrealistic elements of dreams. I have already completed and self-published my pilot comic as of March 2025. I plan to work on and complete the next comic in the next year or two following graduation. In the next few years, I will create and publish the next handful of books that will build up my series. With my comic series being developed, I will continue to show and sell it to people by traveling and networking through comic, zine, and anime conventions across the Midwest, and soon across the country while also aiming to be picked up by an official publisher like Silver Sprocket or Fanta Graphics. The fellowship will cover my costs for self-publish prints for future comics, costs for materials and programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and ZBrush to help make my comics, and travel costs to network at conventions.
“The second thing I’d like to build on in the next five years is my charity campaign I’ve founded called Comic Fight!. Comic Fight! is a 24-hour charity event streamed on Twitch.tv where participants make a 24-page comic in 24 hours to help fundraise money to benefit creatives in need. We’ve already helped organizations such as Art From Ashes, Arts & Scraps, and Urban Arts, as we’ve raised a total of $6,506.69 over the years. Over the next five years I hope to keep this campaign going, and to improve the overall quality of Comic Fight!. With the fellowship, the fundings will be used similarly as my comic goals. The funds will help cover the costs of the Adobe Suite to continue making promotional and visual material for the event, and the travel expenses to advertise and inform people about Comic Fight! in the same conventions I will be going to push out my comic work.”
School of Music
Segun Owele, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Music Performance, Flute
“As a flutist, educator, and arts administrator with advanced degrees in performance, I have devoted my career to both the artistic and organizational sides of classical music. Through my experience in performance, teaching, and ensemble management, I’ve gained a deep understanding of the challenges facing classical and art musicians in Nigeria. Despite the incredible talent within the country, many musicians struggle with a lack of structured support, inconsistent professional standards, financial instability, and limited performance opportunities. Without an institution advocating for their needs and setting high artistic and professional standards, Nigerian classical musicians remain underrepresented and under-supported.
“I want to change this by establishing an organization that provides mentorship, performance opportunities, professional development programs, and industry advocacy. This organization will serve as a central body that promotes artistic excellence, protects musicians’ rights, and creates sustainable career pathways. The fellowship would provide the resources needed to take the first steps toward this vision while also helping me build the necessary administrative and leadership skills to make it a reality.”
Mikayla Chin, Bachelor of Music, Music Performance, Saxophone
“I have always been creative at heart. My first love was art, but after joining my middle school jazz band, I realized that the saxophone helped me express myself in ways words could not and that I wanted to share this with others. However, when I arrived at NIU I knew I was out of my depth. My peers in the jazz program were extremely talented and had access to musical resources I had lacked prior to attending college. Despite this, I knew that with hard work and determination I would be able to succeed.
“I set a goal for myself that I would make it into the NIU Jazz Orchestra by the time I graduated, and by my senior year, I achieved this goal and various others, including being admitted to DePaul University on a talent scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in jazz performance. I have been extremely fortunate to study with the jazz faculty here at NIU as well as alongside peers who have motivated and challenged me. As such, I feel I have taken full advantage of the resources available to me at NIU and am ready to pursue the next chapter of my career.
As an Asian American woman and jazz musician, I have struggled with the challenges of being both female and Asian in the male-dominated jazz world, and I would like to use this award to mentor and be a role model to young jazz musicians from diverse backgrounds like my own through a program or initiative that supports these individuals.
“In short, the Simpson Schatzle Fellows Award would be instrumental in helping me achieve my musical and professional goals by supporting me as I attend graduate school and participate in Chicago’s jazz scene. It would also allow me to pursue initiatives I am passionate about, such as diversity in jazz and equal access to jazz education. Most of all, this award would help me achieve my dream of being able to share who I am to the world through music.”
School of Theatre and Dance
Jahan Pierre, Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Studies
“Over the next five years, I see myself not just working — but thriving — as a multidimensional artist, storyteller, and creative force. I’ve been preparing for this moment all my life. From the stages of New Orleans, where I first fell in love with performance, to the classrooms and rehearsal spaces at NIU where I learned how to turn that passion into craft — every experience has shaped me. Now, I’m ready to step fully into the industry with work that reflects who I am and what I stand for.
“Art, for me, is disruption. It’s truth-telling. It’s how I process the world and speak back to it. I don’t create to be polite — I create to provoke, to challenge, to wake something up. I’m drawn to work that’s rooted in real people and real stories — the kind that hit you in a place you didn’t know needed healing. And as a Black woman, my very presence in these spaces is already powerful. Like James Baldwin said, “Artists are here to disrupt the peace,” and I carry that with me every time I step into a room. Every role I take on, every project I lead, is about making space — for truth, for justice, and for voices like mine.
“My goals are layered. I want to continue acting, directing, and building my own projects through my production brand. I want to work in theater and film that centers Black experiences with care and depth. I want to develop work that doesn’t just entertain, but moves people. In the next few years, I hope to live and work in a city like Chicago or Atlanta — somewhere I can grow my network, stay connected to the culture, and start building the kind of career that doesn’t wait for permission.”
Chance Lira, Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Studies
“I am a graduating B.A. in theater studies with a minor in communications. At NIU, I have made two short films, helped write, direct, act in, and produce SOTD’S Nu Nu Night. I worked on several plays and created, funded, and hosted my own 72-Hour Film Festival. I was given the opportunity to work with Alex Gelman and his Acting On Camera class for both his B.F.A./M.F.A. seniors. I am ready to embark on my next journey, which is breaking into the film industry.
“The first step in my plan is getting accepted into Tyler Perry’s Dreamers internship. I would use the fellowship money to pay for temporary housing (along with food/ transportation) while I’m out there as the internship does not provide it. This could jump-start my career in film. With the gained experience, I would find work out there in Atlanta or Chicago.
“The five year break down; year one work for Tyler Perry’s internship. Year two, find work in either the Atlanta or the Chicagoland area from the experience I have gained. Year three, continue my work and begin the writing process for my own short film. Year four, shoot and enter my short film into film festivals to get the attention of big companies. Year five, continue working and entering films.”
The fellowship is made possible by the generosity donors who have dedicated their lives to philanthropy and the arts, inspired by their deep appreciation for music, theater, dance and visual creativity. Their passion for the performing and visual arts inspired them to establish the award and ensure that future artists have the resources to pursue their creative aspirations.
