TACOMA, Wash. – Andrew Ellison of Monroe, Wash., and Liam Kimball of Fort Collins, Colo., have been named University of Puget Sound Lillis Scholars. The university's most prestigious and competitive award honoring incoming students for their academic excellence, the Lillis Scholarship covers tuition, fees, and room and board for up to four years.
Lillis Scholarships are generously funded by Gwendolyn H. Lillis P’05 and Charles M. Lillis P’05 through The Lillis Foundation. Lillis Scholars thrive on learning and exploring ideas and are chosen for their outstanding academic performance, intellectual independence, and drive to pursue excellence throughout their lives. Ellison and Kimball are members of Puget Sound’s Class of 2024 and joined a cohort of Lillis Scholars named since the program began awarding the scholarship in 2008.
Andrew Ellison ’24 (Monroe)
Andrew Ellison says that before visiting Puget Sound, he toured a few other campuses, but none of them felt like a community he wanted to call his own. "As a first-generation college student, I wasn't really sure what I wanted out of a college experience," he says. Puget Sound was the first school he could see himself attending. "I had told my mom that I wouldn't buy a sweatshirt until I loved the school, and I bought the [Puget Sound] sweatshirt without a second thought."
Ellison looks forward to studying English at Puget Sound. "I love English, and when I was looking through the course catalog, there were a lot of courses that involved the study of thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau," he says. "We touched on them a small amount in high school, but I would love to take a deeper dive."
In high school, Ellison was a student-athlete, playing for both the football and lacrosse teams, served as president of the National Honors Society, a new student orientation leader, and a member of the yearbook staff and knowledge bowl team.
Liam Kimball ’24 (Fort Collins)
Having grown up near a tidal river, Liam Kimball promised himself he'd choose a college near one of the coasts. "Puget Sound stood out to me as a school that could support and encourage all of my interests," he says. "After talking with faculty and staff [members], it just really felt like they'd be there for me."
Kimball has a wide range of interests and hopes to combine them at Puget Sound. "I’ve always liked the language, math, and music independently, but I also think it’s interesting to find parallels between them. I feel like they’re more similar than meets the eye. I’m excited to delve more deeply into them at Puget Sound."
Kimball was a member of the Honor Orchestra/Choir and the Chamber Music Academy throughout high school and was the lead musician in his high school symphony orchestra. In addition to working with these groups, he is a musical entrepreneur, performing solo at events for live audiences to have fun and make money. Kimball is also an athlete and mathematician; he ran cross country, was a calculus III tutor, and interned with Systems Engineering at UW-Madison.
About the Lillis Scholars Program
The Lillis Scholars Program was established in 2007 through a generous gift made by The Lillis Foundation to recognize academic excellence and encourage intellectual independence. Gwen Lillis is chair of The Lillis Foundation, a trustee of Puget Sound, and chair of the board of advisors at the University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business. Charles Lillis is the former chair and chief executive of MediaOne Group, founding partner of LoneTree Capital Management, and chair of the board of trustees at the University of Oregon. Gwen and Charles are the parents of Puget Sound alumna Jessica Baker Isaacs ’05. Each year, two Lillis Scholars are selected from the incoming first-year class.
For information about eligibility for the Lillis Scholars Program, contact the Office of Admission at 253.879.3211 or visit Scholarships and Grants.