Wayne County Foundation Announces Finalists for 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship
The Wayne County Foundation is pleased to announce that they received 76 applications for the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Six Wayne County high school seniors have been selected as finalists for this honor. They are:
- Jayden Cornett-Centerville High School
- Luke Cottrell-Lincoln High School
- Elliott Jones-Lincoln High School
- Jacob Myers-Lincoln High School
- Andrew Purcell-Centerville High School
- Willow Warren-Northeastern High School
Two of these finalists will ultimately be awarded the scholarship. Applications were independently scored by members of the Foundation’s selection committee in a blind review process. A variety of factors were considered, including each student’s activities, achievements, community service, academic performance, financial need, work experience, and leadership potential.
“This was a highly competitive process and we received a large number of excellent applications from students throughout Wayne County,” said Foundation Director of Nonprofit Engagement Brian Schleeper. “It was a challenge for our committee to narrow the field down due to the high quality of materials they reviewed.”
The six finalists will now go through interviews with the review committee in early November. Scores from these conversations will be combined with application scoring to compile the finalists’ ranking. Recommendations from the committee will be submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. for final review and approval. The 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars for Wayne County will be announced in December 2024.
Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are awarded a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to study on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. The scholarship also includes up to $900 annually for required textbooks and equipment. To date, 57 Wayne County students have been awarded scholarships since the program began in 1998.
For more information on the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship or other scholarships administered by the Wayne County Foundation, please visit https://waynecountyfoundation.org/ or contact Brian Schleeper, Director of Nonprofit Engagement at 765-962-1638.