The Wayne County Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of two area high school seniors who will receive the prestigious Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.
From a highly competitive pool of eighty-three qualified applicants, Aubrey Morgan of Centerville High School and Rebekah Stanley of Richmond High School were chosen as Wayne County’s 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars. Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 for required books and 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.
“After careful and exhaustive review of all the candidates, Aubrey and Rebekah represent the very best and brightest of our community,” said Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Gilliam. “These students are incredibly well-rounded, and we are so thrilled to see what their futures hold.”
Aubrey is a senior at Centerville High School. By the end of her junior year, she had earned a 4.14 grade point average. Some of her extracurricular activities include cross country, track & field, model legislation, National Honor Society, and band. Aubrey was described by a teacher as “the best student I have ever taught.” Another teacher stated she is “the hardest working student I have ever come across.” She plans to attend the University of Notre Dame to study politics.
Rebekah is a senior at Richmond High School. By the end of her junior year, she earned a 4.48 grade point average. During her time at Richmond, she has participated in student council, National Honors Society, Red Devil Mentors, and she is very involved with her church. One her teachers said she has “seen nothing from Rebekah but an intense desire to succeed and to bring others with her.” Rebekah plans to attend Ball State University and study elementary education.
The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana, to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities, and 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.
Since the Lilly Endowment created the program during the 1998-1999 school year, fifty-five students have been awarded Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships through the Wayne County Foundation.
# # # # #
Since 1979, the Wayne County Foundation has existed to foster and encourage private philanthropic giving, to enhance the spirit of community and to improve the quality of life in the Wayne County, Indiana, area now and for future generations.
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.