Lilly for Lilly

Government class typically doesn’t hold much excitement for Lilly Johnson.

Tuesday afternoon was different.

First, school secretary Amber Brandon slipped into the back of the room.

Then, Johnson saw her dad, Ryan, coming through the door. She eventually deduced what was happening.

“I don’t know, I was just like, ‘This isn’t real right now,’” she said. “I don’t think the crying set in yet. I’m still, like, freaking out.”

Johnson received news worth freaking out about as she was announced as The Portland Foundation’s 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.

The scholarship covers full tuition and fees to any Indiana college or university for four years. It also includes a $900 annual stipend for books and equipment.

Johnson was selected from a field of 23 applicants from Jay County Junior-Senior High School.

“It’s weird, because I feel like every single one of us is so deserving,” Johnson said, referencing fellow finalists Faith Faulkner, Nick Laux, Jacey Cooke and Kenzie Tobe. “For instance, Faith, me and Kenzie, we’re all class officers, we’re all on student council, we’re all in everything. Like, we’re equivalent. It’s weird to think that I (was chosen). I feel like we’re all on the same playing field. … We’re all so active and so dedicated to the things that we’re in and the community. I just feel so grateful …”

In order to be eligible for the scholarship, a student must have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Students are evaluated on criteria including academic excellence, school and community activities, the response to an essay question and whether they are a first-generation college student. 

Five finalists were selected to go through an interview and write an impromptu essay. The field was then narrowed further with the foundation submitting the finalists’ information to Independent Colleges of Indiana for selection of the winner.

“When they come in for an interview, I feel like across the board they have kind of the same scores because they all do so well,” said Krista Muhlenkamp, a board member for The Portland Foundation. “I would say Lilly … was very much herself. I think some kids can get a little nervous … She was very much herself.”

Johnson proved that point, interjecting to explain that when she entered the interview room she said, “Hi guys, how are you?”

It got no response.

“And I was like, ‘Oh, can I not ask the questions here?” she continued. “And then they chuckled.”

Johnson is ranked 13th in the JCHS Class of 2026 with a 4.1 grade point average. She is president of student council as well as a class officer, vice president of Jay County FFA, a dance captain for the school’s show choirs and a member of the National Honor Society.