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Community Foundation congratulates 2022 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars and Guy David Gundlach Memorial Scholars

December 21, 2021

Eight Elkhart County students are being honored with significant scholarships.  Three students from Elkhart County will receive the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships (LECS) which provide 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 2022 Elkhart County Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are:

• Kaylie Kustron, Concord High School
• Gavin Morey, NorthWood High School
• Sophie Wingard, Fairfield High School.

Since Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-1999 school year,  Elkhart County has honored 94 Lilly Scholars.

Each eligible Elkhart County high school nominates one senior student based on academic performance (including grades and course load), extra-curricular and civic involvement, work experience, career goals, special circumstances, interview, and an essay.  “We look forward to receiving the applications every fall and then proceed with scoring them after the names are removed to keep the students anonymous throughout the process,” said Amanda Jamison, Community Foundation Senior Program Officer. The essays are then scored by Goshen College professors, the scores tallied, and the field narrowed to the top six nominees. The finalists’ names were submitted to the ICI for final review and selection of the three recipients.

The Community Foundation of Elkhart County is also pleased to award the Guy David Gundlach Memorial Scholarship to the following five students: Jacquelin Figueroa, Northridge; Gustavo Gonzalez, Goshen; Josiah Schlabach, Bethany Christian; Jaiden Sopraseuth, Elkhart; and Candra Yoder, Jimtown.  Each of these students will receive $5,000 per year for four years to any accredited Indiana college or university.  This memorial scholarship is one of the many positive initiatives established due to Mr. Gundlach’s gift in 2011. Since the inception of the scholarship, 53 Elkhart County students have received this $20,000 award.

Community Foundation Career Pathways Chair Raquel Espinosa noted that the Community Foundation administers over 110 scholarship funds. “In our last fiscal year, the Community Foundation of Elkhart County awarded nearly $2.5 million to students from Elkhart County who are currently pursuing higher education. Helping hundreds of students pursue education strengthens Elkhart County and improves both their quality of life and of the community as a whole.”

ABOUT THE LILLY ENDOWMENT COMMUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

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.
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.

Kaylie Kustron

Sophie Wingard

Gavin Morey