Porter County Community Foundation Announces 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars
The Porter County Community Foundation (PCCF) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Porter County: Samuel Macker, William Orban, and Mariah Rivera. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.
“Samuel, William, and Mariah are dedicated students and community members. We are proud to recognize them as 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars and are confident they will be successful in college and beyond,” said Bill Higbie, PCCF President and CEO.
Samuel Macker, a senior at Chesterton High School, has excelled both in and out of the classroom. He has demonstrated a sincere commitment to school, athletics, and community activities, and his strong work ethic has set an example for his peers. Macker plans to attend Purdue University or the University of Notre Dame and become an aerospace engineer.
William Orban is a senior at Valparaiso High School. A proactive leader, Orban channeled his passion for languages into improving an afterschool Spanish tutoring program benefitting elementary students and his peers. He seeks out opportunities to learn and develop new skills including robotics and coding. Orban intends to study computer science at Purdue University or Indiana University.
Mariah Rivera will graduate from Portage High School in the spring. She has demonstrated outstanding leadership and resiliency. She is a skilled writer, avid reader, and talented musician. Rivera plans to earn a degree in sociology at Purdue University or Butler University and then attend law school with the goal of becoming a human rights lawyer.
Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and equipment for four years. The scholarship is for full-time undergraduate students leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects both current scholars and alumni with resources and opportunities to be active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. Both the scholarship program and LSN are supported by grants from Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.
In determining Porter County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, the scholarship committee considered academic excellence, leadership and engagement in school activities and community involvement. The committee interviewed each of the finalists then submitted the nominees to ICI, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.
“All of the finalists impressed the scholarship committee,” said Higbie. “Porter County is lucky to have many accomplished young people who excel academically and seek to improve their communities.”
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program has benefitted 103 Porter County students since its creation for the 1997-98 school year totaling nearly $7 million in aid.
The primary purposes of the program are: to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.
In addition to nominating local students for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, PCCF offers a variety of scholarship opportunities for first year and continuing college students. Applications will be available in January 2025 and are due March 31, 2025. Visit PCCF.gives to learn more.