With a viral TikTok presence, a love for travel, and a heart for students, Myles and Haley Finn are composing a new chapter in Croatia

A spark ignited more than a decade ago while students at Wartburg has finally caught fire for Myles ’15 and Haley Rudd ’16 Finn. As members of the Wartburg Choir, the two got their first taste for international travel on their tour through Romania, Hungary, Germany, and Italy. Haley also spent a term studying in Ireland. Now, the Finns are uprooting their life in Indianola for a new adventure in Croatia.

“We absolutely loved the opportunity we had to live a European kind of lifestyle as much as we could in those weeks we spent abroad,” Myles said.

“We started considering a move while I was getting my master’s degree at Michigan State when a member of my cohort told us about her experience as an international teacher. When our daughter was born, we started considering the opportunity even more seriously.”

During the 2024-25 school year, they worked with a recruiting agency and began sifting through the thousands of international opportunities available to them as a choir teacher (Myles) and guidance counselor (Haley). They weren’t sure where they wanted to go, but they knew they were going to be selective. In addition to their work, the Finns wanted to be sure their young children — Rory and Lyra — would have plenty of opportunities to grow and thrive wherever they landed.

Though they considered relocating to Budapest, the openings at an American international school in Croatia seemed like kismet.

“Haley and I had talked about taking our honeymoon in Croatia, but we never got around to it. The more we looked into it and the more people we talked to, the more perfect it seemed,” Myles said.

“We would both get to continue doing the work that we loved, but we would also have more time for our family in a beautiful country where we would get to explore and have that adventure we had been putting on the back burner. And we can give our children a unique and educational experience.”

The move also leaves the door open for Myles to continue growing his fan base on TikTok, where his account, itsmrfinn, has amassed more than 1.4 million followers. With Haley’s help, Myles became an overnight sensation — quite literally — in 2022 when his eight-part series revealing the school’s musical for the year went viral, garnering national attention from outlets like ABC News and Good Morning America.

Students who were unable to take part in the big reveal asked him to post the videos online so they could experience the tension after their other commitments. Myles, who had a TikTok account he rarely used, agreed to post the videos there.

After the last one went up announcing The Addams Family as the production of choice, Myles went home and didn’t think any more about it, until a friend called to ask if he had seen how many views his video had.

One million. In less than an hour.

The videos also caught the attention of The Addams Family composer Andrew Lippa, who came to watch opening night at Indianola High School; the cast from Come from Away, who sent the musicians a video wishing them success on their production; and Kevin Chamberlin, who played Uncle Fester in the stage version of The Addams Family.

Recognizing the potential in the medium, Myles continued to post snippets from his classroom and rehearsals. In addition to the musical reveals — which are, of course, a production every year now — Myles also posts videos of choir warmups to popular songs.

When Pentatonix stopped in Des Moines, the a cappella group created a video much like one Myles had just posted of his students singing Hey Jude and tagged his account in their post. More recently, Funko gifted Myles and all his vocal music seniors each a customized Pop! figurine.

“These videos have provided my kids with some really cool opportunities to see a different side of musical theater and helped them understand that the world really is pretty small,” Myles said. “To be able to showcase a high school choir in this way has opened the minds of some of my kids and, hopefully, of some of the people who watch my videos as well.”

Myles said he tries to emulate the authenticity and vulnerability of Wartburg’s Dr. Lee Nelson in both his classroom and his videos. He hopes to continue those traits in his content as he moves into this next chapter of his life.

“We are still trying to figure out how we take this on the road in a way that is still going to be true to who we are and exciting for people who want to follow our journey. I’m hoping to show them what teaching internationally looks like, what Croatia looks like, and what traveling as a small family from central Iowa looks like,” Myles said. “We are excited to showcase that as much as possible to anyone who wants to follow along.”