For Portage High School Senior Olivia Pierce, it has been a humbling experience to receive the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Porter County in 2024.
“I'm so deeply honored and humbled to be part of this wonderful organization and be the only recipient for Porter County this year,” Pierce said. “It's such a surreal feeling.”
Pierce was awarded this prestigious scholarship because of her dedication to her academics, her school, and her future career.
At Portage High School, Pierce keeps herself busy as a member of several groups. She’s the secretary and treasurer of the government board for the Class of 2024, a member of National Honor Society and World Language Society, part of the varsity Girls Golf and Unified Track teams, a drummer for the Big Red Basketball Band, and a social media and content coordinator for the baseball, football, basketball, and Unified Track teams.
As for her future career, Pierce plans to pursue sports media or broadcasting. Her lifelong love of sports led to this career choice, which will allow her constant involvement in one of her biggest passions.
“I would love to talk about sports for a living. When I realized that could be a potential career, I knew I had to go for it,” Pierce said.
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship covers full tuition and fees for any college or university in Indiana, giving Pierce a lot of schools to choose from. Currently, she is narrowing down her college selection, but she knows exactly what kind of school she plans to attend.
“I'm looking for a college that has some big sports exposure and anything that's going to further my sports broadcasting career,” Pierce said. “I have a couple of schools on my radar.”
Looking further into the future, Pierce aspires to become a reporter for ESPN and hopes to cover some major sporting events. Beyond that, she has a unique dream that she deems her all-time goal.
“On top of my dream to be an ESPN reporter, I want to get Gatorade showered while interviewing the MVP for something like the World Series or the Super Bowl. That would be the ultimate dream of mine,” Pierce said.
This ambition comes from observing her mother’s fearlessness. Throughout her life, Pierce has admired her mom’s positivity and helpful heart which encourages her to make an impact on others as well.
“My biggest inspiration is my mom because she’s super courageous, fierce, energetic, and positive about everything,” Pierce said. “She's always willing to help people, and that's inspirational for me. My mom has been a great role model, and I appreciate everything she’s done for me. I love her to death.”
As she moves into her next chapter of life, Pierce is grateful for the opportunities she will receive because of her scholarship. She is excited to take the next steps toward her academic and career aspirations.
“I'm looking forward to my future and my journey wherever I end up,” Pierce said. “I hope that everyone will see me on ESPN one day and say, ‘I know her! She's from Portage!’ I can’t wait for all the new experiences at whatever college I choose to go to thanks to the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.”