Ella Hall receives the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Huntington County.

The Community Foundation of Huntington County is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Huntington County – Ella Hall of Huntington North High School. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.

“The scholarship committee is pleased to award this year’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship to Ella Hall.” said Community Foundation Board Member Dr. Janelle Maxwell Pflieger, “Ella is an academic standout at Huntington North HS and maintains excellent grades while also balancing various extracurricular and volunteer activities. She embodies hard work, and her passion for continuing her education at an Indiana college or university to pursue a career in legal journalism is impressive. Please help us congratulate Ella on this major achievement.”

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.

“I am so incredibly grateful for the incomprehensible blessing of this scholarship. Being free of the worry of how I am going to pay for college has been such a weight lifted off my shoulders. I am so excited for what this means I will be able to do in the future and how I can take this opportunity to harness the resources it has given me to better serve my community,” said Ella Hall

Thirty-nine Huntington County high-school seniors applied this year through an initial Letter of Intent (LOI) process. Following the review of the fully redacted LOIs, twenty-one applicants were invited to complete a full application for the Lilly Scholarship. Following this second application round, the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee, comprised of six community volunteers, invited six candidates to the first interview process. The evaluations following resulted in only three candidates being advanced to a second interview. Ultimately, the scholarship committee submitted their nominee choice and two alternates to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) for final approval.

Huntington County applicants are evaluated under the following measures:

• Academic Performance: Class rank; SAT/ACT scores; GPA; AP & Dual Credit courses
• Family History: First generation to attend college; siblings in college.
• Financial Need: Student facing unusual hardships; high level of outside financial help needed to attend college
• Personal Statement of Goals: Student clearly states his/her goals and has a plan for attainment; personal motivation to succeed
• Extracurricular Activities: Student is well-rounded; multiple demands; commitment to area of interest; leadership roles in activities
• Awards & Honors: Academic/leadership awards and other recognition from extracurricular/volunteer activities
• Community Service: Intensity and longevity of service; number and variety of organizations served
• Employment & Internships: Consistent work history
  

In addition, applicants are also evaluated on their: 
(1) Demonstration to successfully complete their chosen degree program;
(2) Exhibition of good character, maturity, and leadership abilities; and
(3) Interest in improving the quality of life in Indiana, with a willingness to remain in Indiana after completing degree work and/or to promote the value of a college education by serving as a spokesperson in our community.

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 founder’s 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.