The Wabash Valley Community Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Clay, Sullivan and Vigo counties. Funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., this scholarship program is administered locally by the Wabash Valley Community Foundation and its Clay and Sullivan County affiliates.

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 $439 million. More than 5,000 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception.

Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character and leadership. 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 of undergraduate study 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 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 (ICI).

The following two students have been selected as Vigo County Lilly Endowment Community Scholars: North Vigo High School senior Maureen (Moe) Barrett, daughter of Greg and Molly Barrett of Terre Haute, and South Vigo High School senior Maxwell (Max) Scamihorn, son of Tiffany Scamihorn and the late Trevor Scamihorn of Terre Haute.

The Sullivan County student receiving the award is North Central High School senior Adam Walker. Adam is the son of John and Leanne Walker of Hymera.

Representing Northview High School as the 2022 Clay County Lilly Endowment Community Scholar is Jinna Hyatt.  Jinna is the daughter of Kimberly Hyatt of Brazil and Mitchell Hyatt of Centerpoint.

The Community Foundation received 324 applications from students in the three-county area. Each county had its own selection committee composed of citizens from throughout the county. The selection process was “blind” in that all identifying material was concealed prior to application review by the committees to make this as fair a process as possible. Any Indiana resident planning to attend an Indiana college or university for the first time in the fall of 2022 who attended school in Clay, Sullivan or Vigo counties, and will have graduated from an accredited Indiana high school by the end of June 2022, was eligible to apply.

It is important to note that in Clay, Sullivan and Vigo counties, this scholarship seeks to select well-rounded individuals and does not lean solely on academic achievement. Selection criteria for the three-county area is weighted as follows: 20% financial need; 20% academic achievement; 50% activities outside the academic setting, such as extracurricular activities, service to the greater community and/or part-time employment; and a final 10% for extenuating circumstances.

The scholarship committees in each county conducted interviews and narrowed the field to top finalists in each county. The nominees’ applications were then submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI), statewide administer of the scholarship program, for the final selection of the recipients.

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.