Mann, Pruitt named Lilly Scholars

Friday, March 23, 2007

Seniors Chelsey Mann of Cloverdale High School and Heath Pruitt of South Putnam High School were recently selected to be 2007 Putnam County Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.

The scholarship selection committee of the Community Foundation made the announcement Thursday.

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is a four-year scholarship to attend any Indiana public or private college or university accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It provides full tuition, fees and a special allocation of $800 per year for required books and equipment for undergraduate study leading to a baccalaureate degree.

The Lilly endowment scholarship award could be valued at more than $140,000 for the four years of undergraduate study.

Mann, daughter of Robert and Malinda Mann, Cloverdale, plans to attend Purdue University to study agricultural education and agricultural communications. She wants to be a high school agriculture teacher.

Pruitt also wants to be a teacher, perhaps as a faculty member at South Putnam High School. His major at DePauw University will be mathematics. He is the son of Harry and Deanna Pruitt, Greencastle.

The scholarship selection committee of the local Community Foundation selected eight finalists for personal interviews from a field of 37 candidates. They were chosen for outstanding academic achievement, school leadership and extensive participation in their community, school, church and work.

Finalists nominated for awards were submitted to the Independent Colleges of Indiana for final selection of recipients. ICI is a nonprofit corporation representing 31 regionally accredited, degree-granting, nonprofit private colleges and universities in the state.

The scholarships are the result of a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative to help Hoosier students reach higher levels of education. Indiana ranks among the lowest states in the percentage of residents older than 25 with a bachelor's degree.

There were 216 scholarships awarded statewide.

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