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Taylor Secrest earns 2015 Lilly Community Scholarship
Greencastle High School senior Taylor L. Secrest, son of Brad and Marjorie Secrest, has been named the recipient of the Putnam County Community Foundation's 2015 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
The prestigious scholarship will provide full tuition and fees for four years' attendance at any Indiana college or university. In addition, he will receive a $900 annual stipend for required books and equipment.
This fall, Secrest will studying chemical engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
This fall will be a big change for the Secrest family. Taylor will be one of five Secrest children who will be attending college this fall. Older brother Nate is a student at Purdue University and the Secrest quadruplets, Taylor, Elijah, Zachary and sister, Sydney will all begin their collegiate careers in the fall.
During his career at Greencastle High School, Taylor has been involved in a wide variety of activities. As a young thespian, he has appeared in each of the GHS's fall musicals and spring plays for the past three years and is currently in the production of "You Can't Take It With You."
Secrest also is president of the GHS Student Counsel and co-president of the National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
An outstanding athlete, he has lettered all four years in cross country, swimming and track. He has been recognized numerous times as an all-conference performer and qualified for regional, semi-state and state completion.
Outside of school, he serves as a peer mentor at St. Paul's Church and is a member of the Putnam County Youth Philanthropy Committee. He is also an accomplished musician. Besides playing in the GHS band, Secrest also plays piano and organ.
Upon learning of his award, Secrest expressed gratitude to be this year's Lilly Endowment Community Scholar and the opportunity that he has to pursue his goals.
"I am so grateful and shocked," he said. "I have worked hard and so many people have encouraged me along the way. I am truly grateful for those people and to have my efforts acknowledged in this way."
A GHS faculty member said of Taylor, "This student pursues three goals: God, family and education. I considered including a fourth goal of helping others, but that is not something he strives for, it is an integral part of his character."
This announcement completes a tumultuous week for Putnam County's Lilly Scholarship Selection Committee.
On Monday, the Putnam County Community Foundation notified Cora Neudeck, a senior at South Putnam High School, that she had been selected as Putnam County's 2015 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar. Twenty-four hours later, Cora's efforts and achievements were again recognized when she learned that she had been accepted to Harvard University, her No. 1 school choice.
Neudeck's decision to attend Harvard means that she must decline the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship which may only be used at an Indiana college or university.
While not the norm, it is not the first time that a top Putnam County student's efforts have been acknowledged by both the LECS and an elite East Coast school. In 2007, Heath Pruitt, now a guidance intern at South Putnam High School, was selected to receive the LECS but declined the scholarship to attend Williams College.
"While this scenario may make for a hectic week, each one of our finalists is completely worthy of being named a Putnam County Lilly Endowment Community Scholar. They are all great students. Our procedures approving both nominee and alternates ensure that we are prepared for situations like this," said Karen Nelson-Heavin who chairs the LECS Committee. "Now two highly deserving students will be able to pursue their goals at the schools of their dreams."
The scholarship winner is selected following a review process by the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Selection Committee from the Putnam County Community Foundation. The 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 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is highly competitive. There were 37 applicants for the one scholarship award.
The selection process included a blind review for the first three phases, followed by a dinner in which the Selection Committee met with seven semifinalists. The selection process concluded with four finalists having individual interviews with the committee. The selection criteria 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.
Following the personal interviews, the committee submitted its nominee to Independent Colleges of Indiana Inc. (ICI) for final selection of the recipient. ICI is a non-profit corporation that represents 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.
During the first 17 years of the LECS program more than 3,850 students in Indiana high schools have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships.
The Putnam County Community Foundation has been entrusted with 265 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.