2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipient Announcement
The Community Foundation of Noble County is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Noble County – Elijah Delashmit of East Noble High School. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.
Delashmit intends to study Pre-Law at the University of Notre Dame. Some of Delashmit’s activities include: Senior Citizen Prom, Little Phil, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, Night to Shine, Zombie Walk and officer positions of P.U.L.S.E. of Noble County; East Noble Open House, East Noble Prom planning, organized East Noble Homecoming and Snowcoming, Freshmen Orientation, Riley Week and officer positions with Student Council, president of National Honor Society, captain/player East Noble Boys Volleyball, Cole Family YMCA/Kendallville Parks Department Camp Wethonkitha, Club Volleyball, manager East Noble Girls Volleyball. Delashmit is the son of Melinda Delashmit.
“The Community Foundation is honored to be a part of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program. The excitement within our community is felt as we wish the best to Elijah and those interviewed for the scholarship. This scholarship not only opens doors to higher education but also symbolizes the unwavering commitment to nurturing future leaders and change-makers. May the recipient embrace this opportunity with zeal, knowing that their potential is boundless, and the community stands united in celebrating his remarkable journey ahead,” said Jennifer Norris, Director of Communications and Scholarships at the Community Foundation of Noble County.
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 full-time undergraduate students 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 determining 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 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 ICI, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.
Those finalists will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Community Foundation of Noble County. Those students are:
Mia Becker – West Noble High School
Samuel Hoover – Central Noble Jr/Sr High School
Ethan Jansen – East Noble High School
Adam Marker – Central Noble Jr/Sr High School
Haylee McCann – East Noble High School
Ashley Myers – Bishop Dwenger High School
Olivia Tibbs – East Noble High School
Silvia Venturi – West Noble High School
Robert Warren III – East Noble High School
Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1997-98 school year. Since then, grant funding in excess of $490 million has supported more than 5,300 Indiana students who have received scholarships through the program.
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 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. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, 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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