December 18, 2025
ELKHART COUNTY, Indiana — The Community Foundation of Elkhart County is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Elkhart County. The three students who will receive full-tuition scholarships at any eligible Indiana college or university are:
- John Stephens, Northridge High School
- Mason Pearson, NorthWood High School
- Jose Nava, Elkhart High School
Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership. “We had an amazing group of applicants this year for these prestigious scholarships and are pleased to be able to help Lilly Endowment Community Scholars present these awards,” said Jackie Rodriguez, program officer for the Community Foundation of Elkhart 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 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 determining Elkhart County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, consideration was given to academic performance (including grades and course load), extracurricular and civic involvement, work experience, career goals, special circumstances, interview, and an essay by the Community Foundation’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program nominating committee. 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.
Additional students who participated in the process will receive the Guy David Gundlach Memorial Scholarship:
- Chloe McMullin, Jimtown High School
- Brooke Babcock, Fairfield High School
- Nancy Sanchez-Perez, Goshen High School
- Emmanuel Martinez, Concord High School
- Jennifer Rios, Bethany Christian Schools
- James Ramirez, Elkhart Christian Academy
Each of these students will receive $5,000 per year for four years to attend any accredited college or university in the state of Indiana. This memorial scholarship is one of the many positive initiatives established due to Mr. Gundlach’s gift in 2011. Since the scholarship’s inception, more than 70 students from Elkhart County have received this $20,000 award.
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. A total of 106 students from Elkhart County have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships.
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.
The Community Foundation awards more than $2 million in scholarships annually. Its Universal Application for high school and adult students provides consideration for more than 30 different scholarships. The application opens January 1 and is due by March 1.
About the Community Foundation of Elkhart County
The Community Foundation of Elkhart County partners with donors to leverage their philanthropy in ways that transform lives. Since 1989, the Community Foundation has helped generous donors meet community needs, provide scholarship opportunities to local students, and make grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve Elkhart County. The Community Foundation strives to be a local entity known for inspiring good and impacting success. To learn more, go to www.InspiringGood.org.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
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.
About Independent Colleges of 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.
