HCCF has been granted the privilege of administering the 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship (LECSP) in Hancock County. HCCF again has the opportunity to recommend two students graduating from high school to Lilly Endowment for the full four-year tuition scholarship award. HCCF implements and supervises the process for selection.
The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) 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.
Applications are by invitation only and go live on July 20, 2022, and close at 4:00 p.m. on September 7, 2022. To qualify for an invitation to apply, applicants must:
Be graduating by June 30, 2023, from one of the four Hancock County High Schools
Live in Hancock County
Be in the top 15% of their cohort (weighted GPA), after removing students who live outside of Hancock County.
Students with these qualifications will be identified by school guidance departments and will receive an invitation to apply from HCCF.
Applicants must plan to pursue a baccalaureate course of study, to be completed in four years, at any accredited Indiana public or private college or university. Student applications are submitted online and reviewed blindly (without name or contact information) by third-party professional readers represented by experienced out-of-county reviewers. The third-party committee selects eight finalists, two students from each Hancock County public high school, who best meet the scholarship criteria. Community service is the primary criterion for qualification. Financial need is not a consideration for the LECSP.
The eight finalists will be interviewed in late October by a volunteer committee identified by HCCF, all of whom adhere to a strict conflict of interest policy. This committee has the difficult task of selecting two students from the talented pool of eight finalists and submitting their recommendation to Lilly Endowment for approval. Pending approval, the awards will be announced in December. The eight finalists will be honored at their respective school corporation’s board meetings in November.
2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipients
HCCF is excited to add Claire Bishop (Greenfield-Central High School) and Madelyn Potter (New Palestine High School) to the prestigious list of Hancock County LESCP recipients!
Claire Bishop
Claire is the daughter of James and Nicole Bishop of Pendleton. She plans to attend Purdue University and major in Brain and Behavioral or Psychological Sciences with plans to become an organizational psychologist in a corporate environment.
A variety of organizations and community service work have caught Claire’s interest. Her interest and experience in robotics led her to serve through the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (RECF) as a student ambassador and serving on the Student Advisory Board. She has taught robotics to young girls through the TechPoint Foundation for Youth and hosted a podcast where she interviewed professionals in a STEM-related industry. She also serves as the president of the advisory board. Another robotics-related service she has completed is volunteering at Grassy Creek Elementary School and other local schools as a VEX Robotics team mentor. Since she has competed in VEX Robotics for many years, this has been one of her favorite activities.
Changing Footprints in Greenfield has also been a favorite place for Claire to serve. Her duties range from cleaning and organizing shoes to scheduling other community groups to serve there. The payoff for her is the shoe giveaways where she gets to help children find the perfect shoes for them.
4-H has been an important part of Claire’s life, culminating in being the 2022 Hancock County 4-H Fair Queen and the multiple opportunities to serve the community that has come along with that role. She has participated in Hancock County 4-H Junior Leaders since 2017 and has participated in a wide variety of service projects in that role. She is also the president of the Hancock County 4-H Rabbit Club and Country Kritters 4-H Club, as well as serving on the Hancock County Junior Swine Superintendent Board.
Claire utilizes her love for teaching and music to serve her churches as well, by working in the 2-year-old room at one church, and leading worship youth group music at another. Music has also led to her joining the Hancock County Children’s Choir Student Council.
Madelyn Potter
Madelyn is the daughter of Austin and Jamie Potter of New Palestine. She plans to attend Taylor University and major in biology. She would like to combine her two loves of science and children to become a Pediatric Physician’s Associate.
Serving those less fortunate is a large theme in Madelyn’s community service work. She has been serving with Hope Center Indy for the past four years. Her work initially involved working on the Redefined Hope boutique fashion shows. This work led her to become more highly involved with this organization including starting a program that fundraises to provide high-quality hygiene products for the residents there. Madelyn’s family became part of Safe Families for Children 2015. Through this program, her family hosted children for up to five months while their parent(s) dealt with a crisis. This led to them becoming a foster family in 2020. This activity has led to her interest in making a career in helping children.
Madelyn is active in her church including leading a small group of younger students, playing in the youth band, and helping with events including Vacation Bible School and camp. These activities have led to her being a part of her church’s youth leadership team for the past few years.
Madelyn has found a way to share her love of soccer and arts with community service as well. She has volunteered at local soccer camps to help encourage younger students to have fun while living an active lifestyle. She also enjoys volunteering with the National Art Honor Society to promote the love of art to the community. She also participates in National Honor Society, tennis, soccer, Science National Honor Society, and NP Life at her school.
2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Finalists
Click here to read about the 2023 Lilly Scholar finalists
At a glance
The Lilly Endowment awards 143 scholarships annually across the state. The scholarship has a big emphasis on volunteerism, as well as academics.
To be eligible, students must be ranked in the top 15% of their graduating class academically, and plan to pursue a baccalaureate course of study, to be completed in four years, at any accredited Indiana public or private college or university.
