COLUMBUS, Ind. – Heritage Fund has 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 recognized for community involvement, academic excellence, character, and leadership. Each four-year Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and equipment. 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 may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects current scholars and alumni with opportunities to become 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.
Here are the 2026 finalists:
- Columbus East – Jasmin Cordoba, Abigail Dabson, and Ruthie West.
- Columbus North – 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.
Now, the selection committee will interview the finalists before submitting the nominees for approval to ICI, the statewide administrator of the scholarship program.
The 2026 Lilly Scholars will be announced in December. To date, 59 Bartholomew County students have been named Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.
