2008 Lilly, DCF Scholarship Recipients Announced
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Fred McCarter (812) 539-4115
For Immediate Release
2008 Lilly Endowment, DCF Scholarship Recipients Announced
Lawrenceburg, IN April 7, 2008 – Two Dearborn County high school seniors recently learned they are the recipients of a prestigious Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship (LECS). The Dearborn Community Foundation (DCF) awarded the full-tuition scholarships to Rebecca Taylor of Lawrenceburg High School and Abbey Schmahl of South Dearborn High School.
The Foundation staff, and members of the board of directors and scholarship committee notified the 2008 LECS recipients and their family during a surprise visit to their homes on Thursday evening, April 3rd. Taylor and Schmahl receive four-year, full-tuition scholarships to the Indiana college of their choice along with an $800 yearly stipend for required books and equipment.
“I’m so grateful to Lilly and to the Dearborn Community Foundation,” Taylor said. “I’m so appreciative. … I’m so grateful that I kept working hard and that it led to receiving this honor. It’s also a relief to know that I can quit filling out scholarship applications.”
Schmahl said she was honored to be one of six finalists for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. “It’s just exhilarating to know I’ve won the Lilly scholarship. … I’m so grateful to Lilly Endowment and to the Foundation for choosing me for this honor,” she said.
Taylor is the daughter of Kevin and Pam Taylor of Greendale and plans to attend either Butler University or Purdue University to pursue a degree in Pharmacy. During her high school career, Taylor was a member of the Lawrenceburg High School Band, academic team, and girl’s basketball and softball teams. She also remained busy working after school.
Schmahl is the daughter of Kurt and April Schmahl of Aurora and plans to attend Hanover College to pursue a degree in Business. At South Dearborn, she was a member of the National Honor Society, STARS Mentor Program and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also played soccer and basketball at SDHS. She is currently participating in softball.
“The purpose of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana and to further leverage the ability of Indiana’s community foundations to enhance the quality of life of the state’s residents,” said Fred McCarter, Executive Director of the Dearborn Community Foundation.
“Rebecca and Abbey are two fine young women who were selected among an excellent group of applicants for the high honor of receiving the Lilly scholarships,” McCarter said. “Our community should be very proud of these two honor students and the other four finalists for this prestigious award.”
DCF administers the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship (LECS) Program in Dearborn County for Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Inc. A six-member scholarship committee and the DCF staff annually review each application during Phase I of the scholarship process. During Phase I, committee members know applicants only by a number assigned to them. Each committee member assigns scores to each applicant based on an essay written to address a specific question. DCF Program Director Jerri Worthington assigns additional scores based on history of parental college education, financial need, cumulative grade point average, and number of family dependants.
Based on the highest total scores during Phase I of the process, six Lilly finalists are chosen, two from each school corporation in Dearborn County. In late February, the finalists complete Phase II of the selection process, which consists of a personal interview with the scholarship committee and the writing of an impromptu essay on a specific topic.
The scholarship committee then selects two nominees to receive the two scholarships allotted to Dearborn County, based on highest cumulative scores from the Phase II of the scholarship process. The Foundation board of directors approves the two nominees and the nominees’ information is then sent to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI). ICI is a non-profit corporation and represents 31 regionally accredited degree granting, non-profit, private colleges and universities in the state. A panel of Indiana public and private college representatives, community foundation members and graduate scholarship recipients review the nominations and forwards its endorsement to DCF in late March.
The four remaining finalists are recognized as 2008 Dearborn Community Foundation Educational Grant recipients. Each student receives a $1,000 educational grant paid directly to the student’s school. The grant is renewable for up to four years of secondary education at the college or university of the student’s choice. The Foundation is pleased to award the 2008 educational grants to: Jacob Hess, South Dearborn High School; Amanda Day, East Central High School; Nicole Koschmeder, East Central High School; and Blair Wissinger, Lawrenceburg High School.
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