Steuben County Announces 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipient
The Steuben County Community Foundation is pleased to announce Ashland Benner of Fremont High School as the recipient of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Steuben County.
2025 Steuben County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipient, Ashland Benner, Fremont High School senior
"Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are recognized for their involvement in the community, academic excellence, strong character, and effective leadership skills. Ashland embodies all of these qualities," said Lisa Biers, vice president of programs at the Steuben County Community Foundation.
Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years. The scholarship is for full-time undergraduate students leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects current scholars and alumni with resources and opportunities to be active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. The scholarship program and LSN are supported by grants from Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.
From left: Tyler, Graeme, Ashland, and Racheal Benner.
“The Lilly Endowment Scholarship was life-changing for me,” said Carmyn Hottell, Director of Community Engagement & Leadership at the Steuben County Community Foundation. “It allowed me to follow my passion for community service, and now, my career has come full circle as I work at the community foundation in the county I’ve always called home.”
Ashland with Fremont High School Administration
In determining Steuben County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, consideration was given to the applicants’ essays, presentations, and interviews by the Steuben County Community Foundation’s Scholarship Committee. After the field of applicants was narrowed down, nominees were submitted to the Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI), the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.
Biers stated, “Our evaluation committee, comprised of dedicated community volunteers, thoroughly assesses each applicant's achievements and skills. This rigorous process is why the committee has awarded the Steuben County Community Foundation’s Circle of Friends Scholarship to the five remaining candidates.”
From left, SCCF’s President/CEO, Jennifer Danic, Ashland Benner, SCCF’s Grants & Scholarship Manager, Silby Kays.
"First is my faith, faith in Jesus," Ashland said. "And my family and my sense of community. My community in general has been a big help."
The Phase II Candidates for the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship this year were Caleb McMullen, Hamilton Jr.-Sr. High School; Ashland Benner, Delaney Bock and Tressa Howey of Fremont; and Harlee Henney and Jedidiah Mortorff of Angola High School. SCCF awards a $2,500 Circle of Friends scholarship to the each of the other five finalists. They were notified by their high school counselors about the decision this morning.
Photo of 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Phase II Candidates. Standing, from left: Delaney Bock, Harlee Henney, & Tressa Howey. Seated, from left: Ashland Benner, Caleb McMullen, & Jedidiah Mortorff.
Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1997-98 school year. Since then, grant funding in excess of $490 million has supported more than 5,300 Indiana students who have received scholarships through the program.
The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are:
to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana
to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities
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.
The Steuben County Community Foundation, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to empowering individuals and businesses to support the causes they are passionate about through our philanthropic services, strategic investments, and community leadership. With $55 million in assets, our mission is to bridge the gap between those who care and the needs of our community. We strive to enhance the quality of life by evaluating, supporting, and coordinating philanthropic giving and endowment building. Our vision is to lead the community in these efforts. To learn more about our work, please visit our website at www.steubenfoundation.org.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana
Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice for the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have Indiana’s highest four-year, on-time graduation rates, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduates.