The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship will be open from August 9th until September 9th at 11:59 pm.
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) awards full-tuition scholarships to students from each county in Indiana.
Eligibility:
- Students must be Greene County residents at the time of application
- Applicants must be high school seniors graduating by June 30, 2022
- Applicants must have a high school diploma from an Indiana high school accredited by the State Board of Education or by a national or regional accreditation agency that is recognized by the State Board of Education
- Recipients must pursue undergraduate study in a baccalaureate program on a full-time basis
- Recipients may attend any accredited public or private four-year college or university in Indiana
Benefits:
- One scholarship will be awarded to Greene County residents
- Pays full tuition and required fees for four years; no re-application process is required
- $900 book stipend each year
- Does not pay room, board, or travel expenses
Timeline:
- Monday, August 9, 2021: Online Application Portal Opens
- Thursday, September 9, 2021: Applications Due by 11:59pm (No exceptions)
- October 2021: Finalist Interviews (Finalists for the interviews will be notified via phone once evaluations have been completed)
- Scholarship recipient will be notified by winter break
2021 Lilly Scholarship Recipient
Sophia Edwards will receive full tuition to her choice of any accredited public or private nonprofit college or university in Indiana, as well as a yearly stipend of up to $900 for required books and equipment.
Sophia is a senior at Eastern Greene High School and lives in Solsberry. She is the daughter of Thomas and Melinda Edwards. Sophia has been involved in FCA, Blessing Bag Program, Riley Dance Marathon, Greene County Youth Health Council, Student Council, Thunderbird Honor Society, IHSAA Student Leadership Advisory Committee, Golf and Greene County 4-H. She has volunteered with United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, Special Olympics, Greene County Family Life Center, Operation Outreach Blanket Drive, Eastern Greene STEM Summer Class, Growing Kindness Project and Operation Outreach Food Drive.
Past Greene County Lilly Scholar Recipients
- 1998 — Brad Crites, Eastern Greene
- 1999 — Clint Kaho, White River Valley and Rachel Steward, White River Valley
- 2000 — Sarah Flinn, Bloomfield and Rod Walker, Linton
- 2001 — Morgan May and Drew Landry of Shakamak and Emilee Preble of Linton-Stockton
- 2002 — Tyler Blakley, Bloomfield, Heather Lee Crowe, Eastern Greene and Nadine Kristin Keitel, White River Valley
- 2003 — Emily Hayes, Shakamak, Justin King, Eastern Greene and Sarah Church, Linton-Stockton
- 2004 — Brittany Parkes, Bloomfield, Christina Catt, White River Valley and Tiffany Rae Todd, Linton-Stockton
- 2005 — Brandt Zimmerly, White River Valley and Bessy Lyons, Eastern Greene
- 2006 — Chantal Fink, Bloomfield, and Lindsey Sipes, White River Valley
- 2007 — Laura Beth Correll, Linton-Stockton and Kevin Cross, White River Valley; Matthew J. Wall, who attended White River Valley High, but lived in rural Coal City, received a Lilly Scholarship from the Owen County Foundation
- 2008 — Andrew Brown, Bloomfield and Carly Johnson, White River Valley
- 2009 — John Alexander Cochrane, Bloomfield and Micajah Green, Shakamak
- 2010 — Derek Corn, Bloomfield and Grace Anne Hayes, White River Valley
- 2011 — Seth Herndon, Linton-Stockton
- 2012 — Jacie Anderson, Eastern Greene
- 2013 — Casey Reynolds, Shakamak
- 2014 — Alex Bartlow, Bloomfield
- 2015 — Lilly Southern, Eastern Greene
- 2016 — Emma Brewer, Linton-Stockton
- 2017 — Abby Denham, White River Valley
- 2018 — Jordyn Kieft, Eastern Greene
- 2019 — Evan Cruse, Shakamak
- 2020 — Carson Brown, Linton-Stockton
- 2021 — Sophia Edwards, Eastern-Greene
Lilly Scholar Spotlight
Where Are They Now?
2001 Shakamak graduate Drew Landry is our next Lilly Scholar. Drew graduated from the University of Evansville in 2006 with a BS in Social Studies Education. After teaching social studies for a year at a treatment facility, he went back to school to obtain his MA in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. He returned to his hometown of Jasonville shortly after, where he was a substitute at Shakamak High School and was an adjunct professor at Ivy Tech Community College.
Drew is now an Assistant Professor of Government at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. This August will be the beginning of his tenth year the university. He also writes a monthly column for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that primarily focuses on Texas politics.
Drew says life is going well for him now, but it hasn’t always been easy.
“Once I was hired at South Plains College, my calling to teach was heard loud and clear,” Drew said. “I love what I do every day, and helping students realize and pursue their dreams is wonderful.”
Drew lives in Lubbock with his dog, Thorin Oakenshield, where he says life is going well.
Where Are They Now?
2001 Lilly Scholar, Morgan Sparks is our next Lilly spotlight. After graduating with a BA in Psychology from DePauw University in 2005, she went on to obtain her BS in Music Therapy from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in 2010. As a board-certified music therapist, she now owns Rhythm Garden Music LLC in Jasonville, IN. Her team works with individuals with developmental disabilities of all ages in Clay, Sullivan, Vigo, and western Greene counties. She continues to teach early childhood music enrichment classes and gives music lessons.
Morgan now lives back in her hometown of Jasonville with her husband Brandon and their young sons Ian and Oliver. She is involved with the Jasonville Area Chamber of Commerce, the president of Jasonville’s Tri Kappa chapter, and has served as the president and webmaster of the Association for Indiana Music Therapy.
She said she never imagined coming back to live in her hometown, but she wouldn’t want to raise her family anywhere else.
“I love the life my family and I have created here in Jasonville and I’m excited to see the growth in our little community,” Morgan said. “Life is busy, but I’m grateful for the opportunities to pursue my passions right here in my hometown.”
Where Are They Now?
Our next Lilly Scholar recipient is Clint Kaho class of 1999. While completing his BS in Business Administration from the University of Evansville, he briefly studied at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England. He obtained a MS in Healthcare Administration and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
He now works as the President of Baptist Health La Grange in La Grange, Kentucky. Within his community, he serves in multiple organizations, such as the Oldham County Chamber and Economic Board Chair, the American Heart Association Kentuckiana Chapter Board President, and Eli Lilly Scholarship selection committee for the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana.
“I have been immensely blessed and am truly grateful for the experiences I have had,” Clint said. “I can certainly say this scholarship was instrumental in laying the foundation for the career I now enjoy.”
Clint now resides in Crestwood, Kentucky with his wife Laurie and their 10-year-old daughters, Allison and Jillian.
Where Are They Now?
Kevin and Laura Cross were Greene County Lilly Scholars in 2007. Kevin and Laura graduated from Purdue University and are in their 9th year of teaching for the Southwest School Corporation. Kevin teaches agricultural classes at both Sullivan Middle School and Sullivan High School, and he serves as an advisor for the FFA. Laura teaches family and consumer sciences courses at Sullivan High School and is the FCCLA advisor.
Now married, Kevin and Laura are the proud parents of two beautiful children. Homer James is a Kindergartener, and Opal just celebrated her first birthday. The Cross family lives in Linton and is proud to call Greene County their home.
Where Are They Now?
Micajah (Green) Grassick said she has “taken a different career trajectory than I ever imagined.”
The 2010 Lilly Scholar and Shakamak grad started out by graduating from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in 2013 and is now the High Ability Coordinator at MSD Shakamak, where she oversees the programming for gifted students.
Micajah lives in Clay County with her husband and three-year old son, who she says, “fills our days with chaos and love.” They love spending their time with family and friends and enjoy the occasional Jeep ride. Her family also works with the Clay City Harrison Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Though she no longer lives in Greene County, Micajah has stayed involved within her home community. For the past three years, she has served on the Greene County Extension Board and been in varying leadership roles at Lebanon Baptist Church “Life is busy, but filled with goodness,” Micajah said.
Where Are They Now?
In the eight years since Jacie Grant received the Lilly Scholarship, she has lived an adventurous life.
After graduating from Eastern Greene High School in 2012, Jacie attended Purdue University. While there, she interned and volunteered in countries all around the world--Australia, Ireland, Vietnam, and Italy, just to name a few. While in South Africa, she volunteered at a cheetah conservation center.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences and a minor in Food and Agribusiness Management. She went back to get her master’s degree in 2017.
She has worked at Cargill since 2016 and is now the Employee Experience Specialist for Cargill’s Virginia Market. “I love working in the food industry,” Jacie said. “Getting to take part in nourishing the world in a responsible way is incredible.”
Jacie currently lives in a house overlooking the mountains in Waynesboro, Virginia with her husband Connor, and their dog, Buck.
“Life is going great!” Jacie said. “I am grateful for my roots in Greene County and to Eli Lilly for the opportunity to pursue my further education without the financial burden.”
Where Are They Now?
Rodney Walker graduated from Linton Stockton High School in 2000. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from USI, and later obtained a master’s degree in Education from Indiana Wesleyan in 2010.
Rodney taught fourth and fifth grade at Highland Elementary School for 13 years before teaching Physical Education at Cedar Hall Community School for the past three years. But he does not just teach.
“I began coaching in Evansville 19 years ago and am currently the boys’ varsity (basketball) head coach at Evansville Central High School,” Rodney said.
Him and his wife, Amy, recently built a home where they live with their three kids, Blake, Addison, and Aubrey. Rodney said they still manage to make it back to Greene County to visit his parents, Rod and Carol, who live in Linton.
“Life is going great despite the tribulations of the current pandemic,” Rodney said. “…We keep busy with our kids’ daily activities.”
