Western Wayne News
Wayne County, Indiana's local newspaper
This year, Lincoln Middle/High School’s Golden Eagles are already flying high in their quest for high-dollar college scholarships.
Three of six finalists for Wayne County’s two full-tuition Lilly Endowment scholarships are Lincoln seniors. Two finalists represent Centerville Senior High, and one attends Northeastern.
Wayne County Foundation announced Oct. 28 that 76 applicants were considered for the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.
WCF’s selection committee chose Luke Cottrell, Elliott Jones and Jacob Myers from LMHS, Jayden Cornett and Andrew Purcell from CSHS and Willow Warren from NHS.
Andy Stover, Western Wayne Schools superintendent, said the district is “very blessed” to have three Lilly finalists. Being named a finalist is truly a testament to the students’ hard work, along with the efforts of their parents for raising good kids and their teachers through the years, Stover said.
Stover said Western Wayne Schools aims to give students “opportunities to soar,” and he believes the district is preparing these and additional teens for their next steps after graduation.
He’s grateful for school and community collaborations, such as philanthropic contributions, that help students succeed, Stover said.
“It’s a commitment of many over a 13- to 14-year span,” Stover said, noting the finalists have encountered many faces who’ve played at least a small part in their development.
The Lilly scholarship application and interview process is a lot of work and puts students outside of their comfort zones, Stover said.
Seeing 17- and 18-year-olds being able to handle those responsibilities “makes you excited for the future,” he said.
Stover said it’s an honor to be among the finalists to win “a life-changing amount of money,” and he wishes all of the county’s finalists well.
Centerville Senior High School Principal Brian Bellew said “it means a lot” to the school and community to have two finalists in the running.
“Centerville schools have always taken great pride in giving our students the opportunity to achieve academic excellence, as well as many opportunities to be involved in extracurricular activities, community service, and other leadership opportunities,” Bellew said. “Both Jayden and Andrew are the perfect embodiment of what it means to be a Centerville Bulldog.”
Committee members independently scored the applications in a blind review process. They considered a variety of factors, 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 Brian Schleeper, WCF’s director of nonprofit engagement, in a news release. “It was a challenge for our committee to narrow the field down due to the high quality of materials they reviewed.”
WCF’s committee is interviewing the finalists early this month. Scores from those conversations will be combined with application scoring to compile the finalists’ ranking.
Independent Colleges of Indiana Inc. will conduct a final review and approval of the committee’s recommendations. Winners will be announced in December.
Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are awarded a four-year, full-tuition scholarship for any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. The scholarship also includes up to $900 annually for required textbooks and equipment.
So far, 57 Wayne County students have been awarded scholarships since the program began in 1998.
Last year, the committee chose five finalists to interview. Four were Richmond High School seniors and one attended Centerville. The two winners were Lorelei Guenther from CSHS and Olivia Dudas from RHS.
A version of this article appeared in the November 6 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
Millicent Martin Emery is a reporter and editor for the Western Wayne News.
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