The Unity Foundation of La Porte County is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for La Porte County – Colton Barnes, South Central Jr-Sr High School and Bailey Chavis, Michigan City High School. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.

“Bailey and Colton embody the spirit of community and true leadership that the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship seeks to honor. Colton impressed the Scholarship Committee with his dedication to community service, particularly with his role in the Shine the Light Project, which creates inclusive opportunities in theater for people of all abilities, and his leadership in various school organizations like Robotics and National Honor Society. His passion for nursing and serving others reflects his commitment to making a meaningful impact in the world. Meanwhile, Bailey showcased extraordinary leadership as a student government officer, class president, and athlete across multiple sports. Her work as a student commissioner for Michigan City’s Sustainability Commission and as a volunteer at Tannehill Soup Kitchen highlights her dedication to improving her community and addressing critical issues like food insecurity. Both Bailey and Colton are shining examples of the positive change young leaders can achieve,” said CC Payne, Director of Operations at Unity Foundation.

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.

“The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship will enable me to further pursue an education that will allow me to provide for my community to a greater extent. It is with great pride and gratitude that I am able to call myself a Lilly Scholar,” said Colton Barnes.

Bailey Chavis shared, “I am so unbelievably honored, and I cannot fully express how grateful I am to be chosen to represent both my school and the Unity Foundation as the recipient of this scholarship. It is the great privilege and responsibility of my life to be engaged in my community, and I am so excited that I will be able to continue this work.”

In determining La Porte County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, consideration was given to Service, Academics, and Activities by the Unity Foundation Scholarship 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.

Maggi Spartz, Unity Foundation President shares “The Unity Foundation staff and volunteers invest a lot of time reviewing the applications, choosing and interviewing the finalists in person.  The scores are tallied the two highest scores are referred to ICI.  The quality of the candidates makes this task very hard, yet makes us all proud of what our high school students are achieving!”      

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: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) 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.