A Twin Lakes student will receive a full-tuition, four-year scholarship as the Community Foundation of White County’s 2021 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
Natalie Rodriguez will receive full tuition to an accredited Indiana college of her choice and a $900 yearly stipend for required books and equipment.
Natalie is the daughter of Adan Rodrigues and Maria Angeles. She plans to attend IUPUI to pursue a degree in nursing on her journey to becoming either a registered nurse or women’s health nurse practitioner.
Other finalists for this year’s scholarship were Brayden Buschman (North White), Gracie Craig (Twin Lakes), Schelby Clothier (Frontier), Natalie Deck (Twin Lakes), Logan Schneidt (Tri-County), and Daniel Wisner (North White).
Whether in the classroom, on the soccer field, volunteering her time in the community, or as an employee, Natalie gives her all. She carries an 11.25 (of 12.0) GPA, is ranked 8 th in her class of 178 students, and is a member of the National Honor Society. By the end of this school year, she will have earned 14 college credits and completed state testing to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
During her time at Twin Lakes, she has served on the yearbook staff for two years as its
design editor and is editor of the senior magazine. Recognized by teachers as a young woman
who possesses curiosity and an intense desire to learn, she is noted for accomplishing tasks with poise, grace and confidence. She has received the Twin Lakes Student of the Month Award three times.
A dedicated four-year member of Twin Lakes’ soccer team, Natalie has served as the
team’s co-captain and was a recipient of its Best Sportsmanship Award. Whether on the field or on the bench, her support for the game and her team are well-recognized. She shares her passion for soccer with younger players as well, coaching soccer camp for area children.
Natalie is self-motivated, driven, and outgoing, qualities readily acknowledged by
teachers and employers alike. The Community Foundation of White County is confident Natalie will become another outstanding representative of the community as a Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
As a Lilly Scholar, Natalie will maintain contact with the community foundation during
college as well as for ten years after her graduation.
White County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship selection committee includes
representatives from each school district, in addition to a representative of the Community
Foundation of White County. White County’s is a blind process, i.e. names of all applicants
remain anonymous until introduced at the final interviews. Out of 35 eligible applicants, seven finalists were selected for personal interviews this year. Considerations for selection included financial need, community, school and work involvement, written essay, three recommendation letters, and a B- or better grade average. The Community Foundation of White County submitted the top finalists to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI) for final selection of the recipients.
ICI is a nonprofit corporation that represents 30 regionally accredited degree granting,
nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state.
Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are recognized as leaders and mentors by both
peers and adults in their communities. As Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship recipients, they will maintain contact with the Community Foundation of White County for four years of college as well as for ten years after their graduation.
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is a Lilly Endowment Inc.
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. Since
the program’s inception in 1998, White County has awarded 40 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships; in total, Lilly Endowment has invested over $424M to support the 4,912 Indiana high school students who have benefitted from this program.
In addition to raising Indiana’s educational achievement level, the Lilly Endowment
Community Scholarship program strives to increase awareness of the beneficial roles community foundation 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.