Alanya Brentlinger juggles flower bouquets while posing for photographs after the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne announced she is one of five Allen County Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
Fort Wayne Community Schools student Alexandra Cabrera holds a sign declaring her a 2025 Allen County Lilly Endowment Community Scholar while posing for photographs following the announcement.
Leo Junior-Senior High School student Hayden Couey receives a hug after the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne announced he is a 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
North Side High School student Ka Bya Lay learns she is among five 2025 Allen County Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
Homestead High School student Prestin Salyer, right, speaks with Jaren Harmon of the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne after learning he received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.
DeKalb High School student Cord Akey poses for a photograph after learning he is DeKalb County’s 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
Senior reporter / Education
Alanya Brentlinger juggles flower bouquets while posing for photographs after the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne announced she is one of five Allen County Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
Fort Wayne Community Schools student Alexandra Cabrera holds a sign declaring her a 2025 Allen County Lilly Endowment Community Scholar while posing for photographs following the announcement.
Leo Junior-Senior High School student Hayden Couey receives a hug after the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne announced he is a 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
North Side High School student Ka Bya Lay learns she is among five 2025 Allen County Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
Homestead High School student Prestin Salyer, right, speaks with Jaren Harmon of the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne after learning he received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.
DeKalb High School student Cord Akey poses for a photograph after learning he is DeKalb County’s 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
New Haven Junior-Senior High School senior Alanya Brentlinger wiped away tears as a representative from the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne announced she would receive a full college scholarship.
The East Allen County Schools student was among five Allen County teens chosen as 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
Other recipients were Prestin Salyer of Homestead High School, Alexandra Cabrera of Wayne High School, Ka Bya Lay of North Side High School and Hayden Couey of Leo Junior-Senior High School, a Dec. 13 news release said.
Applicants had to provide a personal statement of goals, demonstrate that they overcame an obstacle and show financial need, academic performance and community involvement, the release said.
“These scholars stand out not only for their academic excellence but also for their ability to persevere through life’s challenges,” foundation CEO Brad Little said in a statement. “Their achievements reflect extraordinary determination and strength, and it’s an honor to support their educational journeys.”
Jaren Harmon, the foundation’s donor engagement specialist, surprised each winner at their schools with the news. She told them more than 70 local graduating seniors applied.
Each scholarship provides full tuition at any eligible Indiana public or private college along with required fees and up to $900 annually for required books and equipment for four years, the release said.
Recipients may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network, connecting them with resources and opportunities to be leaders on their campuses and in their communities, the release said.
“Each year, we are reminded of the profound impact these scholarships have on shaping bright futures for the recipients, their families, and our community,” Little said.
Other northeast Indiana recipients included Aliah Barkey of Warsaw Community Schools, Amy Brown of Whitko Community Schools and Cord Akey of DeKalb Central Schools, according to announcements from the Kosciusko Community Foundation and Community Foundation DeKalb County.
Akey in a statement described the opportunity as a longtime dream.
“This life-changing scholarship will provide financial relief for my plans to attend Purdue University and major in agricultural engineering,” Akey said. “This scholarship is not just an investment in my future but also in the future of the community that has helped shape me, and I look forward to giving back throughout my life and career.”
The scholarship program and the scholars network are supported by grants from the Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana and Indiana Humanities, the release said.
It added the scholarship program has awarded more than $490 million to more than 5,300 Hoosiers since it began in the late 1990s.
Indiana fifth graders have until Feb. 21 to submit entries in the National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest. There is no limit on the number of posters a school can submit, but only one per student is allowed. Artwork should reflect the theme “Bringing Our Missing Children Home” – a phrase that must appear on the poster. The state winner will receive a national award certificate from the U.S. Department of Justice, and the poster will advance to the national judging competition. Contact Indiana State Police Sgt. Seth Tumey at 317-951-3882 or stumey@isp.in.gov for information.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education this month announced it wants at least 60% of high school seniors to complete the 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid by Indiana’s April 15 deadline. The 2025-2026 form is open at https://studentaid.gov. The commission’s outreach coordinators are available to help students and families with the filing process. Visit www.learnmoreindiana.org/contact to send a message to the local coordinator.
The Grace College Department of Humanities will host the inaugural Winona Christian Writer’s Conference on the Winona Lake campus from July 17 to July 19. Cost is $350. It includes most meals, individual manuscript consultation and a swag bag. K-12 educators are eligible for a $100 discount on registration and may earn professional growth points/continuing education units for attending. Email wcwc@grace.edu about the discount. The event offers four workshop tracks for attendees: poetry, fiction, nonfiction and writing for young readers. Jessica Hooten Wilson, the Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University, will be the keynote speaker. Visit visit www.grace.edu/about/the-winona-christian-writers-conference for information.
Fort Wayne resident Natalie Sell was recognized in November as a 2023 High-Grade Winner by the Indiana Certified Public Accountant Society for scoring one of the top 10 highest cumulative scores in the state for the 2023 Certified Public Accountant exam. Sell was the second Grace College graduate to have received this honor in two years.
Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Association for Computing Machinery student club finished 34th out of 550 colleges and universities participating in the National Cyber League’s fall season. That’s up from 36th the previous year. The team – which comprises students in the College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science – finished second among the Indiana teams that compete in the league, just two spots behind Purdue West Lafayette.
Belinda Andrews-Smith received a 2024 American Prize in Directing – The Charles Nelson Reilly Prize – for her production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” This recognition was bestowed in the theatre/musical theater division. Andrews-Smith is a voice lecturer in the School of Music who recently joined the Purdue Fort Wayne faculty after serving as the director of musical theater at Tulane University.
Churubusco resident Nicole Croy, who teaches photography at Carroll High School and Grace College, was honored as Indiana’s Outstanding Art Educator of 2024 by the Art Education Association of Indiana. Croy was nominated by Assistant Principal Kevin Fogle and Jessica Michels of the University School of Milwaukee, her co-chair of the Society for Photographic Education High School Educators’ Caucus.
The University of Saint Francis Mud Slingers ceramics club raised more than $300 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Indiana. The club has made this an annual Christmas charity project over the past few years. Members earlier this year donated 150 bowls made by students to Just Neighbors Family Center, a family shelter in Fort Wayne.
Saint Francis entered into an agreement with the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning, or CELL, to be a provider of educational services under the Indiana Special Education Licensure initiative, or I-SEAL. This effort is designed to increase the number of qualified special education teachers in Indiana by providing financial assistance and streamlining coursework for Indiana teachers to earn special education licensure. Under this agreement, Saint Francis students enrolled in the Transition to Teaching program for mild intervention and/or intense intervention who have received the I-SEAL scholarship will receive a special tuition rate to be paid by CELL.
Submissions for the Teen Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship are due at 5 p.m. March 1. College-bound high school seniors have the chance to earn up to $5,000. Visit www.alzfdn.org/scholarship for information. Students already attending college are ineligible. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has awarded more than $481,000 in scholarships since the program’s inception.
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Nominations, submissions
Students and parents who have a favorite teacher or school employee can nominate the individual for Teacher Honor Roll or Staff Honor Roll. Educators and school employees can nominate students for Student Spotlight to acknowledge their leadership or contributions.
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To submit an item, send a typed release from the school or organization to Education Notebook, The Journal Gazette, 600 W. Main St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802; fax 461-8893 or email asloboda@jg.net at least two weeks before the desired publication date.
The former Northwest Allen County Schools trustee with a record 40-year tenure will be the namesake of the district’s new board room.
Senior reporter / Education
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