2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Announcement
The Community Foundation of Noble County is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Noble County – Ryan Norden of East Noble High School. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.
Norden intends to study Biology to become a pediatrician at the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2023. Some of his activities in high school include Riley Week/Student Council, Diocesan World Youth Day/Diocesan Youth Leadership Team, Claws for a Cause, Stuffed Animal and Blanket Drive, Gifts for Nurses and Christmas Bureau/Interact Club, Blood Drive/Student Council, Confirmation Retreat/Diocesan Youth Leadership Team, International Festival and MYAC Website/Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, Student Council Treasurer and Vice-President, Bi-Phy-Chem Club/Science Olympiad, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, Golf, Varsity Athlete and Varsity Scholar Award, YMCA youth referee and golf instructor, Cobblestone Golf Course employment, National Honor Society and Kendallville Redevelopment Commission student member.
Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years. The scholarship is for undergraduate students studying on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects both current scholars and alumni 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 (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.
In nominating Noble County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar, consideration was given to well-rounded seniors through their academics, community service, volunteerism, extracurricular activities, work experience, and leadership roles. This year’s 30 applicants provided recommendation letters from two references and submitted three essays, which were evaluated by the community foundation scholarship committee of six Noble County citizens, who interviewed the top 10 finalists.
After the field of applicants was narrowed down, nominees were submitted to the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, ICI, for the selection of scholarship recipients.
Those finalists will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Community Foundation of Noble County. Those students are:
Rachel Becker – East Noble High School
Max Bender – East Noble High School
Addison Dills – East Noble High School
Grant Flora – West Noble High School
Hailey Holbrook – Churubusco Junior/Senior High School
Miriam Kline – Churubusco Junior/Senior High School
Eva Refeld – Churubusco Junior/Senior High School
Austin Shepherd – Lakewood Park Christian School
Bethany Trinklein – West Noble High School
Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling in excess of $486 million. More than 5,000 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: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) 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.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice for the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have Indiana’s highest four-year, on-time graduation rates, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduates.
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