Emma Paauwe named 2022-23 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar for Owen County

The Owen County Community Foundation is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Owen County - Emma Paauwe of Cloverdale High School.

Emma is the daughter of David and Melanie Paauwe and is the 41st Owen County recipient of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership, and Emma is no exception. She has served as captain of the Academic Super Bowl – Science Bowl team, Junior Editor of Citizen One News, player of the clarinet in the Cloverdale High School Band, and member of Cloverdale High School’s theater department. Emma ranks first in her class and is graduating early from high school as a Junior. She is the first-ever Junior from Owen County to receive the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Her recommendations speak to her character as a diligent student, a positive role model, and an individual that “never fails to make a contribution.” “Emma was recommended for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship because of her impeccable academic record, her leadership in a wide variety of extracurricular activities, and her poise and confidence during the interview process. She demonstrated an excellent understanding of the motivation and drive needed to succeed and accomplish her goals,” stated Myrna Fields, Chair of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Committee. 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 required 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. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also 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. In determining Owen County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar(s) nominees, consideration was given but not limited to, the following criteria: eligibility, academics, leadership and accomplishments, and interview by the OCCF LECS Nominating Committee. After the field of applicants was narrowed down, nominees were submitted to ICI, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of the scholarship recipient. “This year we saw a deep field of scholarship applicants filled with students on their way to doing great things. Our LECS application process requires students to demonstrate academic excellence, community-mindedness, leadership, and communication skills, and we were thrilled with the quality of applications and interviews. These students are excellent role models for our communities, and they all demonstrate great potential in leading the next generation,” said Janet Rummel, President & CEO of the Owen County Community Foundation. Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling in excess of $486 million. More than 5,000 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception. 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. The Owen County Community Foundation (OCCF) is a public charity founded in 1994 as a resource to connect caring individuals with causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. Since its founding, the OCCF has been able to grant more than $10.5 million to area nonprofit and charitable organizations in our community. The OCCF is committed to enhancing the quality of life for all citizens of Owen County, now and for generations to come. For more information, visit owencounty.org or call (812) 829-1725. Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic 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. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, 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.