Lilly scholars named (4/2/05)

Worrying about the high cost of attending college won’t be a problem for two seniors at Jay County High School.

Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships, which pay four years of tuition at any accredited university or college, were awarded Friday to JCHS seniors Jessica Heitkamp and Ian Thomas.

Heitkamp and Thomas were told of their awards Friday afternoon in a short ceremony in the front office at JCHS (see photos on page 8).

Heitkamp looked shocked when she came around the corner in front of the office at JCHS.

She smiled, hugged her mom first then her dad, after she was pulled out of class Friday afternoon.

She was even more surprised when she found out that her parents had found out about a week ago that she was a scholarship recipient.

“You watched me spaz out this week,” Heitkamp said to her smiling mom.

Twins brothers Ian and Mitchell Thomas were both brought down to the front office for the announcement that Ian was a scholarship recipient. The boys were taking a test in German, which delayed the announcement.

Heitkamp, the daughter of Douglas and Janet Heitkamp, Portland, is ranked 11th in her class with a grade point average of 3.91.

She plans to attend DePauw University and will major in economics.

Thomas, who ranks ninth in his class with a 3.92 GPA, plans to attend Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he will major in computer engineering. He is the son of Randy and Jo Ellen Thomas of Pennville.

Heitkamp, who is secretary of the senior class, is also a member of the academic competition team, serves as Key Club secretary and is also a member of the National Honor Society. She is a four-year member of the soccer and track teams and a member of the First National Bank Senior Advisory Board and works a part-time job.

Thomas is also a member of the academic competition club and is also active in the German Club. A member of the JCHS cross country and track teams, he also has participated in a variety of community activities and held a part-time job.

The scholarships were awarded through The Portland Foundation, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment.

A total of 31 Jay County residents with a minimum grade point average of 3.5 applied for the scholarships. Criteria used by The Portland Foundation included academic excellence, financial need, school and community activities, first generation college student and response to an essay question.

Six finalists also participated in interviews with the foundation selection committee.

After the selection committee narrowed the field of nominees, the names of the finalists were submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana Inc. for selection of the recipients. ICI is a not-for-profit corporation that represents 31 regionally accredited, degree granting, not-for-profit private colleges and universities in Indiana.

The scholarships are the result of a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative to help give access to higher education for Hoosier students. Indiana has one of the lowest percentage of residents 25-and-older that hold bachelor’s degrees. A total of 216 scholarships were awarded statewide.

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