THE COACH DAVID
​LILLEY SCHOLARSHIP

For the better part of thirty-seven years, David Lilley served as an English and International Baccalaureate program instructor and athletic coach for Newport News Public Schools. Having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Christopher Newport University, the Ferguson High School graduate started his teaching career in January 1977 at Huntington Middle School. His coaching career began in 1988 as an assistant track and field coach at Warwick High School. In addition to being the Head Cross-Country coach, in 1989, David Lilley became an Honors English instructor at Warwick High School. Legendary for his exceptional instructional delivery, Coach Lilley subsequently became one of the most outstanding International Baccalaureate teachers, continuing to provide leadership and inspiration until his full retirement in 2014.
 
A truly inspirational educator, Coach David Lilley is beloved by legions of Warwick High School students. Throughout his career, he particularly enjoyed the opportunity to teach some of his Booker T. Washingon students again at Warwick High School. 

According to Mikael Davis, who ran the 800 meters, the 1600 meters, the 4 x 800 meter relay, and Cross-Country for seven seasons at Warwick, “Coach Lilley was totally invested in his student-athletes' long-term success and professional aspirations. As an English teacher, Coach promoted critical thinking by demanding a level of detail in our story analysis and comparative book reviews. He honed leadership development by allowing his Cross-Country captains to design workouts. In our graduating class alone, nuclear engineers, mental health counselors, neurosurgeons, entrepreneurs, K12 educators and university administrators count David Lilley as instrumental to our growth and development.”

​As one of the best International Baccalaureate instructors at Warwick High School, David's students have earned acceptance and scholarship offers to some of the finest universities in the world, to include Brown, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and West Point, among others. The scholarships awarded in his honor will ensure that Coach Lilley's legacy of using education to transform students’ lives continues unabated.

DURING A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT PERIOD IN MY LIFE, COACH WAS A RELIABLE SOUNDING BOARD AND ROLE MODEL WHO DEMANDED EXCELLENCE. TO ENSURE THAT I MET A CRITICAL DEADLINE, COACH TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO DRIVE ME TO WILLIAM & MARY TO DELIVER MY ADMISSIONS APPLICATION.

- mikael L. DAvis ​

david lilley scholarship application

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NONE OF THE FUNDS COLLECTED FOR THE OPTIMIZING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIPS WILL BE AWARDED TO MY SON, whose diligence in securing scholarships and tuition remission to fund all tuition, fees, room & board, pre-college expenses, and books enabled me to devote months of logistical planning to this initiative to benefit other students. All receivables and capital outlays will be detailed in our forthcoming annual report. ​