Whitko High School senior Jordyn Leininger is one of two 2022 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars. Pictured (L to R) are, front row: Thad Leininger, Jordyn’s father; Jordyn Leininger; Rochelle Leininger, Jordyn’s mother; Amy Evans, Whitko High School principal; back row: Neil Brockett, Jordyn’s grandfather; Stephanie Overbey, Kosciusko County Community Foundation CEO; Tim Pivarnik, Whitko Community Schools superintendent; Val Slack, friend of the Leininger family; and Bill Leininger, Jordyn’s grandfather. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
Whitko High School senior Jordyn Leininger is one of two 2022 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars. Pictured (L to R) are, front row: Thad Leininger, Jordyn’s father; Jordyn Leininger; Rochelle Leininger, Jordyn’s mother; Amy Evans, Whitko High School principal; back row: Neil Brockett, Jordyn’s grandfather; Stephanie Overbey, Kosciusko County Community Foundation CEO; Tim Pivarnik, Whitko Community Schools superintendent; Val Slack, friend of the Leininger family; and Bill Leininger, Jordyn’s grandfather. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
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SOUTH WHITLEY - When Jordyn Leininger found out Tuesday morning she was one of two Lilly Endowment Community Scholars, the Whitko High School senior was surrounded by family, school officials, Kosciusko County Community Foundation staff and her sheep Percy.

Everyone was waiting for Jordyn in a Whitko High School conference room, including Percy in a pen. At first, Jordyn was bemused as to why everyone - including her 10-year-old nearly-400-pound sheep - was there. When KCCF CEO Stephanie Overbey told Jordyn she was a 2022 Lilly Scholar, she was shocked and began crying as everyone in the room gave her a round of applause.

“How did you get Percy in here?” Leininger then asked.

The other 2022 scholarship recipient is Warsaw Community High School senior Ryun Hoffert. He learned he received the four-year, full-tuition scholarship to attend an Indiana college or university of his choice on Monday.

The selection process at the KCCF for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is completely “blind” so that the scholarship committee members don’t know the names or other identifying information when evaluating the applications, Overbey said when announcing Jordyn as a scholarship recipient. Qualifying criteria include academic excellence, community service, extracurricular involvement, work experience, references and essay responses.

Once the committee selects the finalists, the Community Foundation submits the finalists to the Independent College of Indiana, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship program, who has the final say in who the recipients are.

As to why Leininger was picked, Overbey began by saying Jordyn is the daughter of Thad and Rochelle Leininger. In a third-generation farming family, Jordyn considered a career in agriculture before realizing she was better suited for dermatology.

In an application essay, Overbey said Jordyn wrote, “Although I’m very involved in agriculture, my favorite part of taking care of animals was when they would develop skin conditions and I got to play animal dermatologist.”

When Jordyn had to seek treatment on her own from a dermatologist, Jordyn realized that was the career path for her, Overbey said.

Jordyn attributes much of her growth to agriculture. In an essay, she said, “Working on a farm, I learned how to be selfless - the animals always comes first. I also learned how to work well with others, and have good communication and be flexible.”

Overbey said Jordyn carries those lessons with her as she serves in 4-H and FFA, participates in Miss Indiana and Peacekeepers and volunteers “lots” in the community, Overbey said.

“Sometimes, our smallest actions that we think are insignificant mean the world to something else,” Jordyn wrote in an essay. She said she was bullied in school and had to “practice meeting coldness with a smile and a compliment.” Now, as she mentors several younger students, Jordyn lives out her belief that kindness will always win. Overbey said Jordyn wrote that she wanted to leave behind a legacy of kindness.

Overbey said one of Jordyn’s teachers said, “She is a young lady who works hard, sets high goals and expects a lot from herself. She’s active in and out of the classroom, and holds many leadership positions. Other students look up to her.”

One of Jordyn’s employers echoed that sentiment, saying, “She dives into research for any project, offers information, but never comes across as a ‘know it all.’ Her demeanor is always helpful and giving because she is a light.”

After the scholarship presentation, Jordyn explained how her dad “fibbed” to her about what was going on Tuesday morning.

“He told me I was meeting with a former teacher this morning about something ag related. And he was like, ‘Oh, you’ve got to get dressed up for it,’ and so I got dressed up and I was ready to be all serious this morning and do this meeting. And then I kind of got blindsided by this. Usually, I’m the one who is fibbing to him,” Jordyn explained.

She said being named a Lilly Scholar is a huge honor.

“It’s also a big relief to know that I will be able to go to a college of my choice regardless of the financial strain that it might put on my family. So, it’s really, really special to be able to receive such an honor,” she said.

Jordyn applied to a couple of colleges and is waiting to hear back on final responses from most of them.

Rochelle said she was speechless about her daughter winning the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.

“I’m just so happy for her,” she said.

Thad was “thrilled that she’s going to get to choose the college that she wants to go to because I knew finances were going to play a decision on what she picked and now the book is open to whatever she can do. The sky will be the limit for her.”

Whitko High School Principal Amy Evans said Jordyn has worked very hard for the scholarship.

“There’s nights where she definitely sacrificed going out with friends, doing other things because she was doing work. She was the leader in our FFA and 4H. She works with students with disabilities. She’s always doing something to help people, and so, in mind, it couldn’t have been a better person to get the award,” Evans said.