Henry County Community Foundation Announces 2020 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Recipient
Emma-Kate Moore, a Knightstown Community High School senior, is the 2020 recipient of the Henry County Community Foundation Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. In addition to full tuition to any Indiana college or university, Moore will receive an annual $900 stipend for books and other required equipment.
“Winning the Lilly Scholarship is a dream come true,” said Moore. “It’s something I’ve wanted ever since my older sister was in high school. I’ve been working hard in and out of school since before high school, and it feels so rewarding knowing that all my hard work has paid off. I feel so incredibly grateful and blessed.”
The daughter of Tony and Angela Moore of Knightstown, Emma-Kate is active in many sports, including cheerleading, track, soccer, and basketball. She is also Vice President of the National Honor Society, the KHS Student Body President, and a Leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Moore is active in her church and also volunteers her time with Special Olympics and the IHSAA Student Advisory Committee. Recently, Moore was third runner-up in the Miss Indiana Teen USA Pageant Contest held in Fort Wayne.
Moore plans to attend either Taylor University or Grace College and double major in Communications and Business Administration. Her career goal is to start her own clothing line. “I want to empower women,” she said. “I want to help them feel confident in any way I can.”
The finalists for the Henry County Community Foundation 2020 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are Rylee Johnson, Shenandoah High School; Alexandra LaMar, Blue River Valley High School; Tytus Ragle, New Castle High School; Eli Richards, Hagerstown High School; and Isaiah Steele, Tri High School. The five finalists will each receive a one-time $1,000 scholarship from the Henry County Community Foundation for representing their school.
Every graduating senior attending Blue River Valley, Hagerstown, Knightstown, New Castle, Shenandoah, Tri and Union high schools, who is also a Henry County resident, is eligible to apply for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Each school corporation nominates one student to represent them in the Henry County Community Foundation’s selection process. The Foundation’s scholarship committee, from outside the county, narrows the field to a nominee and two alternates, whose names are forwarded to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. ICI makes the final selection of Henry County’s 2020 recipient.
ICI is a nonprofit corporation that represents 30 regionally accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state. The Lilly Endowment Scholarship is part of a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative to 1) help Hoosier students reach higher levels of education; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit, and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state. Since the program’s inception in 1998, over $405 million in scholarship tuition has been awarded to 4,769 full-tuition scholars.