Triton High School student surprised as 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar

The Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) is pleased to announce Travis Barnhart of Triton High School as the recipient of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Marshall County.Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.

“Travis demonstrated all the qualities that we look for in an outstanding candidate. His academic performance and community involvement is exceptional. He has a passion and vision for using his leadership skills and educational pursuits to make a lasting impact in Indiana communities,” said Beth Styers, MCCF Scholarship Committee Chair.

Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years. The scholarship is for full-time undergraduate students leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects both current scholars and alumni with resources and opportunities to be active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. Both the scholarship program and LSN are supported by grants from Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.

“This scholarship will enable me to attend Purdue University to become an agricultural & biological engineer,” said Barnhart. “I aspire to make an impact by helping to solve agricultural challenges through invention and technological advancement. I am inspired by the legacy of my grandparents and parents and plan to return to my roots, invest in this land, and give back to the people who have allowed me to grow and learn.”

In determining Marshall County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, consideration was given to academic performance; community service, work experience, and leadership; school activities; and an application essay and interview by the Lilly Scholarship Selection Committee. After the field of applicants was narrowed down, nominees were submitted to ICI, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.

“Each year the applicants from Marshall County are amazing and it is always a difficult selection process because their high school careers are so full of excellence!” said Linda Yoder, MCCF Executive Director.

Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1997-98 school year. Since then, grant funding in excess of $490 million has supported more than 5,300 Indiana students who have received scholarships through the program.

The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 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.

The Marshall County Community Foundation is a public charity with local roots that helps great ideas take flight through endowment philanthropy. Since 1991, donors to the Marshall County Community Foundation have built the community's assets currently valued at more than $44 million and have returned over $26.8 million to Marshall County communities in grants and scholarships, $5.5 million from Community Funds.

For more information about the MCCF, call 574-935-9159, or visit www.marshallcountycf.org.