Foundation Names 2010 Lilly Scholarship Recipients

Two Gibson County students have been named recipients of full-tuition, four-year scholarships as the Gibson County Community Foundation 2010 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.

Zane Graper and Amy Michel will receive full tuition to the Indiana College of their choice and $800 yearly stipend for required books and equipment. Blake Spindler and Anastasia Bittner have been named as alternates, and each will receive a $1,500 scholarship from the Gibson County Community Foundation.

Zane Graper, son of Donnie and Lisa Graper of Ft. Branch, is a senior at Gibson Southern High School.  Zane plans to attend Purdue University and major in Biological Engineering.  Zane is a 10-year member of 4-H, vice-president of Gibson County Junior Leaders and Sentinel of Future Farmers of America.  He is a member of the wrestling team and has won many honors including the Mental Attitude Award.  Zane has also been involved in the school newspaper, academic super bowl, SADD, the peer mentoring program and the parliamentary procedure team.

Amy Michel, daughter of Larry and Jo Michel of Ft. Branch, is a senior at Gibson Southern High School.  She will attend either Marian University or the University of Indianapolis and major in mathematics.  Amy is a member of the Beta Club, SADD, and Sunshine Society.  She is involved in the Spell Bowl, Academic Bowl and the theatre. Amy is also in marching band and the concert band.

Blake Spindler, son of Eugene and Brenda Spindler of Haubstadt, is a senior at Gibson Southern High School.  He plans to attend IUPUI, the University of Evansville or Purdue University and major in Mechanical Engineering.  Blake is a member of the Beta Club and a peer mentor.  He participates in track and field and is captain of the soccer team.  Blake is also very involved in SADD, pep club and was named the DARE role model his senior year.

Anastasia Bittner, daughter of Steven and Mary Bittner of Princeton, is a senior at Wood Memorial High School.  She plans to attend Marian University and major in pastoral ministry. Anastasia is a member of the National Honor Society, Spell Bowl team, the English Team, Spanish Club and the Drama Club.  Anastasia is also a member of the Swing Choir and is Youth Choir Director at her church.

Thirty eight students applied for the scholarship this year.  These 38 students were evaluated and ranked by the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Committee, which is made up of six board members of the Gibson County Community Foundation.  The identities of the students were not known to the committee as they ranked them on academic performance, community activities, school activities, work experience and their written essay.  The top eight applicants from this ranking process were then interviewed by the committee.  Their interview scores were added to the previous scores and the recipients determined by the highest scores.  After the Gibson County Community Foundation Lilly Scholarship Committee narrowed the field to four nominees, the finalists' names were submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI) for the selection of the recipients.

ICI is a nonprofit 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.  Indiana ranks among the lowest states in the percentage of residents over the age of 25 with a bachelor's degree.  There were 216 scholarships awarded statewide.

Leslie Mustard, chair of the scholarship committee, thanked the committee for the tremendous job they did in reviewing and selecting the candidates, noting their difficulty in selecting the recipients and alternates from among the 38 applicants.  "They were all bright and deserving students, and we wish we could have provided a full scholarship to each of them.  We owe Lilly Endowment a big thank-you for providing scholarships to two outstanding seniors in Gibson County," said Mustard.