Press release, Porter County Community Foundation:

VALPARAISO, IN — The Porter County Community Foundation (PCCF) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Porter County: Arieanna Brown of Washington Township High School, Miles O’Shea of ​​Valparaiso High School and Olivia Pierce of Portage High School. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character and leadership.

“This year’s honorees impressed the committee with their academic achievements and leadership skills,” said Bill Higbie, president and CEO of the Porter County Community Foundation.

Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship covers full tuition, required fees, and a special stipend of up to $900 per year for required books and equipment for four years. The scholarship is for full-time undergraduate students pursuing a baccalaureate degree at any eligible public or private nonprofit college or university in Indiana. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars can also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects current scholars and alumni with resources and opportunities to become active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. The fellowship program and LSN are supported by grants from the Lilly Endowment to the Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.

When determining nominees for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholar of Porter County, academic excellence, leadership and commitment to school activities and community involvement were considered, along with a highly qualified written essay. competitive and an in-person interview process with the selection committee. Once the number of applicants was narrowed down, applicants were submitted to ICI, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.

“Our community has many students who excel both academically and in service to others. The selection process is never easy,” Higbie said.

Lilly Endowment established the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,200 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception.

The primary goals of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are: 1) to help raise educational attainment in Indiana; 2) increase awareness of the beneficial roles that Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, government, educational, nonprofit, and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities across the state.

The Porter County Community Foundation partners with community members to support their favorite causes by creating and managing permanent endowment funds that allow generosity to last forever. Since 1996, the PCCF has awarded more than $37 million in grants and scholarships to organizations and students in our community. To learn more about how you can make a lasting difference for your favorite causes, contact PCCF at 219-465-0294 or visit the Foundation online at PCCF.gives.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation established in 1937 by JK Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and JK Jr. through donations of stock from their pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly and Company. Although stock donations remain the financial foundation of the Fund, it is a separate corporate entity, with a separate board of directors, staff and location. In accordance with the wishes of the founders, the Foundation supports the causes of community development, education and religion. Although the Foundation funds programs across the United States, particularly in the religious field, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown of Indianapolis and its home state of Indiana.

Since 1997, the Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship program statewide with funding provided by the Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice of the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ more than 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of more than $5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have the highest four-year graduation rates in Indiana, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduate students. first cycle.