Five LaGrange County high school seniors have been named finalists for the 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. The prestigious award goes to an outstanding high school senior in LaGrange County.

The 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar will be awarded a full-tuition scholarship including a $900 book stipend per year, for four years to any accredited college or university in Indiana.

Finalists for the award are Ella Clark of Westview High School, daughter of William and Carrie Clark; Ethan Hibbs of Westview High School, son of Cliff and Sandy Hibbs ; Kamryn Miller of Westview High School, daughter of Brian and Brooke Miller; Manisha Ramachandran of Lakeland High School, daughter of Anand and Teresa Ramachandran, and Paige Riegsecker of Westview High School, daughter of Ryan and Jodi Riegsecker.

The scholarship is awarded to one well-rounded LaGrange County graduating senior who exemplifies service and leadership in their community, while maintaining a commitment to academics.

The scholarship program is offered each year by the LaGrange County Community Foundation, and other Indiana community foundations across the state 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; and 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.

After a competitive application process that evaluates academics, community and school activities, leadership, and written essays, the finalists are interviewed by the Foundation’s Lilly Scholarship Advisory Committee. The results of the interview round are combined with the application round to determine the 2023 nominees who will be submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana for final selection of the LaGrange County recipient.

Announcement of the recipient will be made in mid-December. The four remaining finalists will each receive a $1,000 renewable four-year scholarship from the Lambright Leadership Scholarship Fund, established by Kevin and Carrie Lambright in 2013.