‘Still shaking’

Aubrey Millspaugh knew an announcement was coming.

She had recently seen the newspaper article about Gage Sims receiving his honor the previous year.

She and fellow finalist Maddy Snow had chatted about it in the locker room at swim practice.

When librarian Cathy Fugiett stopped her in the hallway and asked her to come to the temporary library set up in the former TV studio, she had an idea of what was about to happen.

Millspaugh broke into a giant grin when she walked through the door to see her parents and others gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate her as Jay County High School’s 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.

“I’m shocked,” Millspaugh said spontaneously, still shaking with excitement moments after finishing her interview with Rob Weaver of WPGW Radio.

“I didn’t think it was going to be me,” she added. “Everybody was so deserving of it. I really didn’t think it was going to be me.”

Millspaugh said she was catching on when Fugiett approached her, but she still doubted that she would be the recipient.

“I started shaking before I even walked through the door,” she said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

The Lilly scholarship provides full tuition for four years to any college or university in Indiana. It also covers required fees and up to $900 per year for books and equipment.

Millspaugh said her current plans are to attend Anderson University to study elementary education and compete for the Raven swim team.

“It’s close to home, which is something that I definitely wanted,” said Millspaugh, who added that she wants to stay connected to local organizations such as the Jay County swim teams and Jay County Civic Theatre. “And then I also knew that I wanted the opportunity to swim in college and Anderson gives me a really, really great opportunity to be able to do that.”

In addition to her involvement with the school and club swim teams and civic theatre, Millspaugh has been involved in the Patriot Edition and Just Treble show choirs and student council at JCHS. She is also a member of the National Honor Society while carrying a 4.316 grade point average that ranks her ninth in her class.

She was one of five finalists along with Coryn Blalock, Ella Stockton, Morgan DeHoff and Snow.

“It’s always hard, because these kids are just so wonderful. But this year was especially tough for the committee,” said Doug Inman, executive director of The Portland Foundation. “These five ladies just were so tightly bunched when it came to their scores. They are just very quality individuals academically, girls of character. It just shone through in the interview process.”

Millspaugh earned the Lilly honor — she is the 43rd Jay County recipient — from a group of 28 applications with a minimum grade point average of 3.5. Finalists are selected from an initial application that includes an essay, with candidates being evaluated on academic excellence and school/community activities. They then write an impromptu essay and are interviewed by The Portland Foundation’s scholarship selection committee.

Names are submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana for selection of the recipient.

Millspaugh hopes to return to Jay County to become a teacher in first or second grade. She currently serves as a cadet teacher in Bart Brandenburg’s first grade class at East Elementary School.

“I absolutely love little kids,” she said. “I’m a cadet teacher in a first grade class right now and it is the greatest part of my day.”

“I was so sad school was canceled (Tuesday) because I didn’t get to see my first graders,” she added. “So, just getting to work with kids every day and do something that I love, I’m so excited to be a teacher.”

She then paused to ask her mom, JCHS guidance counselor Kristin Millspaugh, if she could leave a little bit early on her way to cadet teach in order to provide time to pick up cupcakes for the first graders.

In addition to her cadet teaching, she also helps coach the 10-and-younger members of the summer swim team.

“Getting to watch kids get better and improve at this is just so rewarding,” Millspaugh said.