A Night of Achievement: Morgan County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship
We celebrated Morgan County’s two Lilly Scholarship winners and six finalists last week. Brickhouse on Main provided the perfect elegance, charm, and Italian fare to host our event. The eight finalists and their families along with representative from each school district and several members of our Board of Directors were in attendance. Special guest speaker, former 2020 Lilly Scholarship winner Mason Littell, assured the students that “being in this room is a big deal, and what got you here will take you far in life.” He shared his experience of collaborating and networking with other Lilly Scholars as a Purdue student where he studied biology. His Lilly Scholarship achievement was certainly an easy talking point when interviewing for his current position with Eli Lilly in Indianapolis where he oversees quality control in a lab that produces one of the pharmaceutical giant’s diabetes drugs. Mason spoke of his aspirations early on to move out of state but says now he “cannot imagine being anywhere else.” Lilly Endowment’s desire to keep these scholars giving back to Indiana has worked! Mason shared that winning the Lilly Scholarship remains on his professional resume and notes that “people in Indiana know what this is, and it is a big honor.” Mason’s remarks serve as encouragement to the winners and finalist, reminding them this achievement is a distinction setting them apart from others and will serve them well as they advance in life and in their future careers. Congratulations to Monrovia High School’s finalist Makayla Matney; Mooresville High School’s finalists Alexis Weddle, Zaiah Crites, Sinna Zheng and winner Cody Martin; Martinsville High School finalists Kayelyn MacPhee and Katelyn Long; and the first ever winner from Tabernacle Christian High School Christina Li! We wish you all the greatest success and hope you all will return to these annual dinners and share your inevitable accomplishments with future Lilly Scholars.
Mason’s speech brings home how embedded and devoted Lilly is to Morgan County. Through their scholarships, Lilly Endowment educates two of our county’s brightest students every year, and in the case of Mason Littell, now has retained his talent for their own use at Eli Lilly. He remains a Hoosier, living right here in Morgan County, with no desire to be anywhere else. If only other Indiana companies would attract and retain our talented students. We need them here, giving back and committed to Morgan County.
In addition to their commitment to educating our youth, Lilly Endowment continues their commitment to Morgan County with periodic gift initiatives designed to encourage donations to CFMC. From now until the end of 2025, Lilly Endowment’s Gift VIII will triple any donation to our unrestricted grant-making fund. This provides the funding for our grants to Morgan County’s nonprofits. If we meet our critical matching goal, we stand to double our grant budget in 2026, increasing it from $75,000 to $135,000. That is no chump change!
All of this gives me hope – the Lilly scholars, Gift VIII, and future economic developments coming our way. I took a call from a young business owner last week who shared his story of humble beginnings and his technology business now 170 employees strong which he started in his basement. His story is inspiring to say the least, and the best part is his commitment to Morgan County. After hearing his story, listening to Mason Littell, and celebrating our Lilly Scholarship finalists and winners, my hope is endless. I know great things are coming to Morgan County.
If you are interested in helping us reach our matching goal for Lilly Gift VIII, please contact me at kcole@cfmconline.org.
