COLUMBUS, Ind. — Heritage Fund announced the 10 local high school seniors selected as finalists for the 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships for Bartholomew County.
Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character and leadership. 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 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. Scholars also may 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.
- Columbus East High School: Jasmin Cordoba, Abigail Dabson and Ruthie West.
- Columbus North High School: Angelica Armstrong, Caleb Ferguson, Ava Laplante and Alfredo Madero.
- CSA-New Tech: Zoey Jernigan and Kevin Wittekind.
- Hauser Jr-Sr High School: Kaysie Kistler.
Heritage Fund received 59 applications for this year’s scholarships, from which the 10 finalists were selected. Scholarship applicants were evaluated by the
election committee on academic performance; scholastic and community involvement; employment; leadership; financial need; short answer and essay
responses and two recommendations.
Finalists now will be interviewed by the selection committee before scholarship nominees are submitted to ICI, statewide administrator of the scholarship program, for nomination approval.
The 2026 Lilly Scholars will be announced in December. To date, 59 Bartholomew County students have been named Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
