Congratulations, Caroline!

Caroline Boman, a 2020 graduating student at Corydon Central High School, received the perfect gift this holiday season. Ms. Boman is the 2020 Harrison County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship recipient.

The generous scholarship means that Ms. Boman will receive full tuition to the Indiana college or university of her choice, as well as a $900 yearly stipend for required books and equipment.

When Ms. Boman found out she received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, excited cheers erupted around her. She was thrilled to find out that her dream of receiving the scholarship had come true.

“Receiving this scholarship has been my goal since freshman year, so I was extremely honored to receive an interview, let alone the scholarship,” Ms. Boman said. “I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and to the teachers who have helped me achieve my goal.”

Ms. Boman lives in Corydon with her parents, Beth and Marc Boman. Ms. Boman volunteered as an elementary school teaching assistant for several years. She has also been involved in several activities in high school, including Student Council, the Renaissance Club, the Key Club, various academic bowls, National Honor Society and Students Against Destructive Decisions.

Ms. Boman plans to major in Spanish education at Indiana Wesleyan University in order to become a Spanish teacher at the secondary level.

Harrison County senior high school students began applying for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in August. Eighty-one applications were received. In October, a volunteer committee of six former HCCF board members participated in a blind scoring and interview process.

Six Harrison County applicants were interviewed, and three finalists’ names and applications were submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI), which administers the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) statewide. ICI is a nonprofit corporation representing 30 regionally accredited degree-granting, nonprofit private colleges and universities in the state.

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is the result of a statewide Lilly Endowment, Inc. initiative to 1) help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, not-for-profit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.

Including the 23rd cohort, 4,769 full-tuition scholars have been awarded and over $405 million in scholarship tuition has been provided through the LECSP since the program’s inception in 1998.

To learn more about HCCF’s scholarship programs, please contact Heather Stafford, Director of Programs, at 812-738-6668 or heathers@hccfindiana.org.