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Jaxon Parmley named 2019 Putnam County Lilly Scholar
When a kid is smart enough to be named the 2019 Putnam County Lilly Endowment Community Scholar, it’s hard to pull one over on him.
Then again, when the kid in question has been working toward the Lilly as a goal for as long as Jaxon Parmley, we should forgive him if he doesn’t want to get his hopes too high.
Thursday afternoon, the Greencastle High School senior walked into the hospitality room at McAnally Center and saw a larger-than expected crowd.
What would five school administrators, the guidance department, his entire family and even representatives of the Putnam County Community Foundation be doing there if, as he had been told, Jaxon was getting a golf award?
Chase Haltom, chairman of the PCCF Lilly Scholarship Selection Committee was the first to greet Parmley.
“How are you?” Haltom asked.
A knowing smile crossed the newest Lilly Scholar’s face.
“I’m really good,” Parmley said.
Why shouldn’t he be? The prestigious scholarship will provide full tuition and fees for four years of attendance at any Indiana college or university. In addition, recipients receive a $900 annual stipend for required books and equipment.
It wasn’t just when he walked in the room. The GHS senior had begun to suspect something when he was told he would be going over to the athletic department under the auspices of a golf award.
As he crossed the parking lot, he noticed some familiar cars that shouldn’t have been at the high school at that time.
Still, he didn’t want to get ahead of himself.
“I’ve been trying not to believe (the Lilly) was what it was,” Parmley said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
However, Parmley’s been doing a lot more than hoping for this scholarship for years now. In presenting the award, Haltom commended Parmley for focusing on this scholarship long before it would be on the radar of most other students.
“All Lilly finalists are goal-oriented people and work hard for their four years in high school in hopes of being awarded the Lilly Scholarship,” Haltom said. “The thing that stood out to me most about you, Jaxon, was something stated in your application. When you found out how prestigious the scholarship is, I believe through a family friend who had just won the scholarship, you said you were going to win it as a senior. You were a fifth-grader at the time.
“So not only have you worked hard for four years, but you have been striving to accomplish this goal since middle school. Very impressive.”
In realizing such a longterm goal, Parmley took a few moments to gather his thoughts.
“This is crazy. It’s been kind of a dream my entire life,” Parmley said. “I had no words when I first walked in the room. I walked in and I saw everybody and thought, ‘Of course.’ It’s a dream come true.”
The son of John and Jody Parmley, Jaxon is planning to attend Purdue University in the fall, though he’s also applied to the University of Notre Dame.
He plans to study actuarial science with the goal of being an actuary for an insurance company.
Selection criteria for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is based on scholastic abilities and intellectual pursuits, capacity to lead and motivate fellow students, social commitment and extracurricular involvement, and the ability to articulate career plans that demonstrate motivation and initiative.
A math teacher wrote of Jaxon while recommending him for the scholarship, “Jaxon embraces the challenge. My favorite words from his mouth: ‘I am totally going to figure this out.’ He is a rarity. Jaxon embraces the hardest problems in calculus — the dreaded related rates. I have never had a student that derived such joy from these complex problems.”
During his career at GHS, Parmley has been a leader in a variety of organizations. He has served as the president of his class each of the past three years, vice president of the National Honor Society, a Greencastle High School Ambassador, a four-year member of the Putnam County PIE Coalition and as a member of the Putnam County Youth Philanthropy Committee.
Parmley has received numerous awards and recognitions including being named an AP Scholar with Distinction, awarded Maxima Cum Laude for the 2018 National Latin Exam, a delegate to Hoosier Boys State, a Rising Star of Indiana Class of 2019 and Grand Champion Intermediate Showman at the National Junior Summer Spectacular as a swine showman.
As an athlete, Jaxon has distinguished himself on the golf course in each of his high school years. He has twice been named all-Western Indiana Conference and all-Putnam County. Coincidentally, Parmley was last week’s Banner Graphic Featured Athlete of the Week.
Applications for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship are first reviewed by the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Selection Committee from the Putnam County Community Foundation. The local selection committee was composed of eight voting members, with two members residing within each of the geographic areas served by the four county school corporations.
The nomination process is highly competitive, with PCCF officials noting there were 16 qualified applicants for the one scholarship award. The process included a blind review for the first three phases, followed by a dinner in which the selection committee met with seven semifinalists.
The process concluded with four finalists having individual interviews with the committee.
Following the personal interviews, the committee submitted its nominee and alternates to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI) for final selection of the recipient. ICI is a nonprofit corporation that represents 30 regionally accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state which administers the scholarship program.
The scholarships are the result of a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative to help Hoosier students reach high levels of education. This year, 143 scholarships were awarded statewide. There have been more than 4,600 scholarships awarded statewide, with 37 Putnam County students being named Lilly Endowment Community Scholars since the program began in 1998.
The Putnam County Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity established in 1985 to help donors establish endowments, award grants, and provide leadership, enriching the quality of life and strengthening community in Putnam County. The Community Foundation has been entrusted with more than 280 funds and endowments for donors, supporting a variety of charitable purposes. To learn how to start your own endowment, visit www.pcfoundation.org or contact the office at 653-4978.