Press release from Dearborn Community Foundation
(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Matthew Davis received the surprise of a lifetime in Friday, April 27, when the Dearborn Community Foundation, Inc., (DCF) awarded him the prestigious Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. The Lawrenceburg High School senior, who was one of six Lilly Scholarship finalists in Dearborn County, had learned just a couple of weeks earlier that he did not win one of the two full-tuition Lilly Scholarships awarded by DCF.
In early April, DCF awarded the Lilly Scholarships to East Central High School’s Michael Frondorf and Lawrenceburg High School’s Joshua Bezold. What Davis didn’t know is that Bezold had applied to attend the United States Air Force Academy. When Bezold was notified only a few days after receiving the Lilly Scholarship that he had received an appointment to the academy, he decided to decline the Lilly Scholarship and to accept the full-tuition scholarship offered by the Air Force Academy.
When Bezold, the son of Ramona McGovern Bezold and Tony Bezold, Lawrenceburg, declined the Lilly Scholarship, the Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) scholarship guidelines for the Lilly Scholarship kicked into gear. The guidelines call for DCF to also select a first and second alternate in case a student, like Bezold, chooses to decline the scholarship.
Davis was the first alternate approved by the DCF Board of Directors based on his scoring in the Lilly Scholarship selection process. Annually, about 200 Lilly Scholarships are awarded in Indiana and, according to ICI, Davis is among about 10-15 students annually who are awarded the Lilly Scholarship after other students choose to decline it. The most common reason for a student to decline the Lilly Scholarship is because they have chosen to attend an out-of-state college. The Lilly Scholarship recipient must attend an Indiana college or university.
Davis, the son of Cindy and Guy Davis, Lawrenceburg, plans to attend Indiana University this fall to study math and economics. The purpose of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana and to further leverage the ability of Indiana’s community foundations to enhance the quality of life of the state’s residents,” said Fred McCarter, DCF Executive Director.
“At first, it was very surprising that a student would decline the Lilly Scholarship,” McCarter said. “However, this is the third time in the last six years that we’ve had a student decline the Lilly scholarship for another full-ride. This is the second time the Lilly Scholarship has been declined to attend the Air Force Academy. It’s great to know that all three of these fine young men will be attending college with a full-tuition scholarship. Our community should be very proud of all three of these honor students.”
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for the required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis, leading to a baccalaureate degree at any Indiana public or private college or university accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Frondorf, the son of Mary Beth and James Frondorf, Jackson Township, plans to attend Rose Hulman Institute of Technology to study Engineering. He also is interested in entering medical school.
LINKS:
LHS, ECHS Students Earn Lilly Scholarships
