The Montgomery County Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Ava Nunan has been named the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar for Montgomery County. She is a senior at North Montgomery High School and the daughter of Andrew and Nancy Nunan.
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 undergraduate students studying on a full-time basis 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.
"I am extremely blessed to have been selected as this year's Montgomery County Lilly Endowment Community Scholar,” Ava said. “To be considered, let alone selected amongst a group of such qualified and talented individuals is humbling to say the least. I am grateful to both the Montgomery County Community Foundation and Lilly Endowment for not only believing in me, but entrusting me with such an incredible opportunity. I must acknowledge that this would have not been possible without the guidance and support of my parents, family, friends, counselors, coaches, educators, and above all God. Currently, I am undecided on where I will attend school, but I do plan to pursue business, specifically an accounting degree. Regardless of where the future takes me, I know that I remain committed to giving back to this community and supporting its future leaders. Again, I feel incredibly blessed to have received such an opportunity and I am grateful for all that it means not only for my future, but for my family as well."
Ava has been involved in many different clubs and organizations throughout her high school career, including National Honor Society, Student Council, FCA, and Hoosier Girls State. She has also volunteered her time as a peer tutor, coaching youth soccer, and regularly helps in the concession stand during sporting events.
A talented athlete, Ava has many accomplishments as a four-year member of the North Montgomery Girls Varsity Soccer team. She has been the varsity captain for two years, named Academic All-Conference, and won a sportsmanship award her junior year. When she’s not on the soccer field, Ava enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and spending time with friends and family.
To be considered for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, students must be a resident of Montgomery County, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.85 on a 4.00 scale, and be in the top 10% of their graduating class at an accredited Montgomery County high school. Ava, along with 30 other local applicants, participated in a highly selective review process that evaluated academic achievement, student activities and leadership, and two essay responses. Finalists were also required to appear before the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Community Foundation for two interviews. Concluding the process, the scholarship committee narrowed the field of applicants and submitted the finalists’ names and applications to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI) for final selection of the recipient.
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.
Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling in excess of $490 million. More than 5,300 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice for the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have Indiana’s highest four-year, on-time graduation rates, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduates.