The Porter County Community Foundation (PCCF) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Porter County: Samuel Macker, William Orban, and Mariah Rivera. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.
“Samuel, William, and Mariah are dedicated students and community members. We are proud to recognize them as 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars and are confident they will be successful in college and beyond,” said Bill Higbie, PCCF President and CEO.
Samuel Macker, a senior at Chesterton High School, has excelled both in and out of the classroom. He has demonstrated a sincere commitment to school, athletics, and community activities, and his strong work ethic has set an example for his peers. Macker plans to attend Purdue University or the University of Notre Dame and become an aerospace engineer.
William Orban is a senior at Valparaiso High School. A proactive leader, Orban channeled his passion for languages into improving an afterschool Spanish tutoring program benefitting elementary students and his peers. He seeks out opportunities to learn and develop new skills including robotics and coding. Orban intends to study computer science at Purdue University or Indiana University.
Mariah Rivera will graduate from Portage High School in the spring. She has demonstrated outstanding leadership and resiliency. She is a skilled writer, avid reader, and talented musician. Rivera plans to earn a degree in sociology at Purdue University or Butler University and then attend law school with the goal of becoming a human rights lawyer.
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 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 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 Porter County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, the scholarship committee considered academic excellence, leadership and engagement in school activities and community involvement. The committee interviewed each of the finalists then submitted the nominees to ICI, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.
“All of the finalists impressed the scholarship committee,” said Higbie. “Porter County is lucky to have many accomplished young people who excel academically and seek to improve their communities.”
The primary purposes of the 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.
In addition to nominating local students for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, PCCF offers a variety of scholarship opportunities for first year and continuing college students. Applications will be available in January 2025 and are due March 31, 2025. Visit PCCF.gives to learn more.
The Porter County Community Foundation collaborates with community members to support their favorite causes by creating and managing permanent endowment funds that make it possible for generosity to last forever. Since 1996, PCCF has awarded over $45 million in grants and scholarships to organizations and students in our community. To learn more about how you can make a lasting difference for your favorite causes, contact PCCF at 219-465-0294 or visit the foundation online at PCCF.gives.
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.
