Shelbyville senior receives 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship

Shelbyville High School’s top student in the graduating class of 2026 received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.

Senior Mylez Clark, ranked No. 1 in his class, plans to use the scholarship as the final part of his application package to Notre Dame to study Biology on a pre-medical track.

Through the scholarship, the son of Jason and Meranda Clark will receive full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and equipment for eight semesters of undergraduate study at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university.

To determine Shelby County’s Lilly Scholarship winner, a blind review of all applications occurs without application names attached. The foundation scholarship committee then selects four finalists for personal interviews.

“There is no preparation for the questions. It’s all blind,” explained Clark, who wants to be a neurosurgeon. “A lot of them are questions about what type of person you are. They get a bit of a gauge (on you) through a variety of types of questions.”

Shelbyville High School senior Mylez Clark was surprised Tuesday afternoon with the news he was awarded the 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.

Through the years, Lilly Scholarship winners have talked about the uniqueness of the interview process.

“It was a bit tough. I had to think on my feet,” said Clark. “I tried to prepare. I tried to practice. I talked to myself in the mirror.”

Clark left the experience feeling confident in his interview process that led to Tuesday’s award ceremony in the Golden Bear Room at Shelbyville High School.

“I felt I showed them who I was. I was confident in all my answers,” said Clark. “It felt good.”

The scholarship committee also interviewed Shelbyville’s Hannah Baker, Triton Central’s Eli Sego and Morristown’s Mia Garthwaite as finalists. Each of them will receive a four-year renewable scholarship from one of the 118 scholarship funds administered by BRCF.

There were 46 qualified applicants for this year’s Lilly Endowment Scholarship.

“Each year, our Scholarship Committee carefully reviews applications from Shelby County students who exemplify excellence in both academics and community service,” said Julie Alvis, Communications and Scholarships Director for the Blue River Community Foundation. “The exceptional quality of these candidates makes selecting finalists and ultimately a recipient, a rewarding yet challenging task.”

Mylez Clark calls his father, Jason, to inform him about receiving the Lilly scholarship.

Lilly Endowment Inc. created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship program for the 1997-98 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling in excess of $505 million. More than 5,400 Indiana students, including 45 from Shelby County, have received the scholarship since the program’s inception.

At the reception ceremony Tuesday was 2008 scholarship recipient Lauren (Rush) Ruble (main photo, far left), a Southwestern graduate who is currently a teacher in the Triton Central school system. Ruble was Clark’s kindergarten teacher at Loper Elementary School in Shelbyville.

Clark is the fourth Golden Bear in the last five years to receive the scholarship. Elias Slaven was the 2025 recipient while Braydon Povinelli and Beau Kenkel were awarded in 2022 and 2023.

Clark is the 18^th Shelbyville student to be honored.

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