Five Allen County students will receive full-tuition, four-year scholarships as the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne 2015 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
The following students have been selected to receive a scholarship to an Indiana college of their choice and a $900 yearly book stipend for required books and equipment:
· Victoria Cook, Woodlan Jr/Sr High School, plans to attend Butler University to pursue a degree in Biology.
· Benjamin Koch, Homestead High School, will attend Ball State University to pursue a degree in History.
· James Marshall Reber, South Side High School, will attend Purdue University to pursue a degree in Mathematics.
· Isaiah Miler, North Side High School, will attend Valparaiso University to pursue a degree in Finance and Business.
· Cheyney Rose, South Side High School, will attend Indiana University to pursue degree in Photo Journalism and Spanish.
³We are pleased to help these very deserving young people reach their academic goals,² remarked David Bennett, executive director of the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne. ³Also, on behalf of all of Allen County, we want to express our sincere appreciation to Lilly Endowment Inc. and Independent College of Indiana for continuing to provide this very generous support.²
Fifty-nine students applied to their high school and 24 applications were forwarded for review by the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Selection Committee at the Community Foundation. Eligible Allen County students have to demonstrate successfully overcoming an obstacle, financial need, academic performance, work and community involvement and a personal statement of goals.
After the Selection Committee narrowed the field, the finalists¹ names were submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana for the final selection of the recipients. Independent Colleges of Indiana is a nonprofit corporation that represents 31 regionally-accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state. There were 142 Lilly Scholarships awarded statewide.
The scholarships are part of a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative to help Hoosier students reach higher levels of education. Indiana ranks among the lowest states in the percentage of residents over the age of 25 with a bachelor¹s degree.