Five Allen County students will receive full-tuition, four-year scholarships as the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne 2017 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.

The following students have been selected to receive a scholarship to an Indiana college of their choice and a $900 yearly book stipend for required books and equipment:

· Keontré Hughes, Concordia Lutheran High School, plans to attend University of Notre Dame to pursue a degree in Biological Sciences or Biological Engineering.

· Juana Munguia-Paz, South Side High School, will attend Indiana University-Bloomington to pursue a degree in Pre-Law.

· Briana Rhodes, New Haven High School, will attend Indiana Wesleyan to pursue a degree in Social Work and Addiction Counseling.

· Alaina Stellwagen, Concordia Lutheran High School, will attend DePauw University to pursue a degree in Communications.

· Viktor Stjepic, Northrop High School, will attend Butler University to pursue degree in Biology.

“For nearly 20 years, the Community Foundation has helped support the hopes and dreams of some of our most deserving students,” remarked David Bennett, executive director of the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne. “On behalf of all of Allen County, we want to express our sincere appreciation to Lilly Endowment Inc. and Independent College of Indiana for continuing to provide this very generous support.”

One hundred and eight Allen County students applied to their high school and twenty-seven applications were nominated for review by the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Selection Committee at the Community Foundation. Eligible Allen County students have to demonstrate successfully overcoming an obstacle, financial need, academic performance, work and community involvement and a personal statement of goals.

After the Selection Committee narrowed the field, the finalists’ names were submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana for the final selection of the recipients. Independent Colleges of Indiana is a nonprofit corporation that represents 31 regionally-accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state. There were 142 Lilly Scholarships awarded statewide.

The scholarships are part of a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative to help Hoosier students reach higher levels of education. Indiana ranks among the lowest states in the percentage of residents over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree.