Adams Central High School senior Melanie Bertsch is the 2025 Wells County Foundation Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
Bertsch will receive not only full tuition to any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university for four years, but also up to a $900 per year stipend for required books and equipment. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network, which connects scholars 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.
Bertsch, a Wells County resident, is the daughter of Nick and Brooke Bertsch. She is a three-year member of National Honor Society and has achieved Principal’s High Honor Roll throughout her high school years. She was named a Rotary Club Scholar three consecutive years.
Bertsch has been an active member of student council where she has led numerous fundraisers and school activities. She has also been an active member of the varsity tennis and volleyball teams, receiving Academic All State Player awards in both. Bertsch is also active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Business Professionals of America
Bertsch has an extensive history of providing community service for numerous Wells County organizations, including Hope Missionary Church, Helping Hands Pregnancy Center, Forgotten Children Worldwide and the Apostolic Church.
She is employed at Christian Care Retirement Community where she received her nursing assistant certification.
“Each year, the competition for this coveted scholarship award is formidable” stated Foundation CEO Tammy Slater. “The wide range of accomplishments these young adults have achieved in their lives are exemplary and Wells County would be extraordinarily well-represented by any one of the them. Melanie is a deserving nominee. She maintains outstanding scholastic standing while at the same time being actively engaged in numerous extra-curricular and community activities. She has chosen to not only participate but pursue leadership positions within many of the activities she has participated in. She possesses the characteristics of a strong work ethic, resilience and the ability to inspire others. These qualities will serve her well as she pursues her education in college. We have great confidence that Melanie will enjoy much success.”
The local accredited high schools within Wells County were contacted in June and asked to submit the names of students meeting the following criteria: a minimum GPA of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale; planning to attend an accredited four-year Indiana college or university, public or private; and a full-time resident of Wells County and a current high school senior, attending an accredited high school within Wells (or a surrounding) County who will graduate by June 30, 2025.
A total of 46 candidates were determined to have met the initial eligibility requirements. The candidates were judged on academic achievement, school and community activities, work experience, letters of recommendation, and a 500 to 750-word essay conveying what makes him/her special and deserving of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Reviewed, scored, and ranked by an outside scholarship management professional, the Foundation sent the recommendations to Independent Colleges of Indiana for the final determination. ICI is a nonprofit corporation that represents 31 regionally accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state.
Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-1999 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling in excess of $490 million. More than 5,300 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception.
The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship 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. The Wells County Foundation, Inc. administers the Lilly Endowment Scholarship program locally.
