2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar

elias slaven

Elias R. Slaven is the recipient of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship (LECS) for Shelby County. Each LECS awarded provides for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for eight semesters of undergraduate study 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 Inc. to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.

Elias resides in Shelbyville with his parents Chadwick and Cynthia Slaven. He will graduate in May from Shelbyville High School (SHS).  Starting in the fall of 2025, he plans to major in earth sciences at Purdue University. Upon completion of his post-secondary education, he plans to pursue a career as a geologist. His passion for geology was clearly evident in both his written application and personal interview.  Through numerous examples, he shared his experiences in the field so far and his aspirations for the future. Elias summed it up perfectly when he said, “Our planet is a diamond in a seemingly empty universe, and I want to learn everything I possibly can about it. All of the small details, the vast history it holds secret below the surface. We only have one earth, and even though I can never understand all of it, I can certainly learn all I can and do my best to make it a better place before I leave it.”

At the time of application, Elias ranked fourth in his graduating class with a GPA of 4.34 on a 4.0 scale. He has demonstrated a commitment to academics and extracurriculars throughout high school, excelling in Track & Field and Soccer, earning HHC and IHSAA All-Academic honors for multiple years. Elias is also a member of the National Honor Society, where he serves on the Executive Board, and has been actively involved in Earth Club, FFA (where he was a Borlaug Scholar and World Food Prize Representative), and the newly formed Pickleball Club. His leadership experience includes serving as Track & Field Captain and Distance Team Captain, and managing the Tree Trot. In addition to his academic and athletic pursuits, Elias has volunteered over 200 hours at the Indianapolis Zoo, and participated in various local community service projects, including preparing snack bags for at-risk youth and participants of Blue River Soccer Association. He has been recognized for his academic excellence in science and social studies and was accepted into the prestigious United States Naval Academy Summer STEM Program. Additionally, Elias has gained valuable work experience at Kroger.

With a strong sense of compassion and commitment to service, Elias actively contributes to both his community and school. As Douglas Uehling, SHS Language Arts teacher and adviser to the National Honor Society, shared in his recommendation, “Beyond the classroom, this gentleman is a leader in the school and community. He is respected among his peers and viewed as a mentor and role model. He has grown in numerous volunteer opportunities, and he is unafraid of undertaking challenges that may reside outside of his comfort zone. In this regard, I truly commend him. He understands the importance of learning and growing as an individual, and he readily pursues such opportunities. Moreover, he is quick to act and help others, modeling the true meaning of altruism. As the adviser to our chapter of National Honor Society, I am proud to count this young man a representative of our organization.'"

After a comprehensive review of each application, which the Foundation’s scholarship committee completes in the blind (applicant’s names are removed from viewing during this phase of the selection process), six finalists were selected for a personal interview.  Selection criteria considered during each interview includes determination, decision making skills, knowledge of what is required to succeed in college and the ability to apply that knowledge, goal orientation and evidence of life planning, and intellectual curiosity in the student’s chosen field.  Julie Alvis, Communications and Scholarships Director for BRCF, reported that the committee reviewed 46 fully completed and qualifying applications this year. Alvis added, "Our Scholarship Committee is consistently impressed by Shelby County students who apply for this prestigious scholarship. They are excelling both in their academic pursuits and in their contributions to the community.  Given the high caliber of applicants, the selection process is always a challenging one."

In addition to Elias, the following students were named LECS finalists and interviewed for the scholarship: Karina Calderon (Shelbyville High School), Addison Hartman (Shelbyville High School), Jacob Hawk (Morristown High School), Emory Higgins (Shelbyville High School), and Tucker Hutchinson (Triton Central High School). Due to their impressive personal and academic accomplishments, each of these five students will receive a four-year renewable scholarship from one of the 112 scholarship funds administered by BRCF. 

ICI oversees the administration of the LECS Program and provides final review and selection of the recipients.  ICI is a nonprofit corporation that represents 29 regionally accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges, and universities in Indiana.

Lilly Endowment Inc. created the LECS Program for the 1997-98 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling in excess of $490 million.  More than 5,300 Indiana students, including 44 from Shelby County, have received the LECS since the program’s inception.

Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership. Furthermore, the primary purposes of LECS 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

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.

Blue River Community Foundation has served Shelby County since 1988.  Since the first scholarship was awarded from a BRCF administered scholarship fund in 1994, over $8 million dollars have been awarded to students pursuing post-secondary education credentials.  In addition to providing these forms of educational resources in the community, BRCF strives to improve the quality of life for Shelby County residents through various community initiatives and grant opportunities (over $27.3 million awarded since 1994).

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.