(LAGRANGE) – Five LaGrange County high school seniors have been selected as finalists for the 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.

The 2026 finalists are Lydia Jacobson of Lakeland High School; and Briana Kaufman, Audrianna Martin, Myra Miller, and Bentley Ryall, all of Westview High School.

This award provides full tuition and a $900 annual book stipend for four years at any Indiana college or university.

This year, the Foundation received 23 competitive applications from students representing all three LaGrange County high schools. The scholarship honors students who excel academically and demonstrate leadership and community engagement. Applications were evaluated on academic performance, involvement in school and community activities, extracurricular participation, work experience, honors and awards, personal statements, essays, and letters of recommendation.

All finalists participated in a scholarship workshop at the Community Foundation on October 14, led by Scholarship Manager, Beth Retterbush. The session included interview preparation and an impromptu essay exercise.

Finalists will return later this month for interviews and to present their personal digital portfolios to the Lilly Scholarship Advisory Committee. These scores, combined with their application evaluations, will determine the nominee and two alternates recommended to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI), which will select the final recipient. The winner will be announced in December.

In addition to the full-tuition award, LaGrange County finalists not selected as the Lilly Scholar will receive the Lambright Leadership Scholarship, a $4,000 award established in 2013 by Kevin and Carrie Lambright.

Audrianna Martin intends to major in Animal Science and minor in Biochemistry. Briana Kaufman plans to study Applied Medicine. Lydia Jacobson plans to pursue a degree in Architecture. Bentley Ryall is interested in Biomedical Engineering or Computer Science. Myra Miller plans to study Psychology or Social Work.