Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to an individual who attended Centralia College for at least one year and/or has made significant contributions to his or her profession or society in general.
2025 Distinguished Alumna
The Centralia College Foundation has named Grammy Award-winning musician Brandy Clark its 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award winner. She has written countless hits for some of country music’s most popular artists, including Miranda Lambert, Sheryl Crow, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey Musgraves, and is one of the country’s most sought after performers and songwriters.
“Our committee has had Brandy on our radar for a while and, with female country artists in the spotlight now, we felt this was a great time to shine the light on our own bright star,” said Renee Lawson, a member of the Foundation’s selection committee. “We could not be prouder of Brandy!”
Clark grew up in Morton and attended Centralia College starting in January 1995. She completed her Associate in Arts degree in 1997 and transferred to Belmont University in Nashville to study music in 1998.
She had her first hit as a songwriter in 2011 with "Mama's Broken Heart," which she co-wrote with Shane McAnally and Kacey Musgraves. The song was a hit for Miranda Lambert and earned Song of the Year nominations from the Country Music Association (CMA), the Grammy Awards, and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). A follow up song, “Follow Your Arrow,” co-written by Clark and performed by Kacey Musgraves, was the 2014 CMA Song of Year.
Clark released a self-titled EP in 2012 and her debut album, 12 Stories, in 2013. For that album, the acclaim was immediate, and Clark was nominated for multiple awards in the year following its release. She was a 2014 nominee for New Artist of the Year from the CMA, a nominee for Female Artist of the Year from ACM in 2015 and nominated for Best Country Album and Best New Artist at the 2015 Grammy Awards.
She has since released several more albums, including Big Day in a Small Town (2016), Your Life is a Record (2020), and Brandy Clark (2023), earning a total of 17 Grammy nominations overall. She won a Grammy in 2025 in the Best Americana Performance for her song “Dear Insecurity” featuring Brandi Carlile from her self-titled 2023 album.
She also wrote the score for the Broadway musical “Shucked,” a comedy about a young woman who sets out to save her small town when the corn starts dying. The show received nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Original Score.
Clark begins a North American tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter in June. She will be formally honored by the Centralia College Foundation at a later date.
Brandy Clark Official Photo by Victoria Stevens
Nominate a Distinguished Alumnus
The Centralia College Foundation is currently seeking nominations for its Distinguished Alumnus Award. The award is presented annually to an individual who attended Centralia College for at least one year and/or has made significant contributions to his or her profession or society in general.
The recipient of this prestigious award is announced in the spring and recognized at the college’s graduation ceremony in June.
CONTACT THE FOUNDATION
Centralia College Foundation
600 Centralia College Blvd
Centralia, WA 98531-4099
360-623-8942
ccfoundation@centralia.edu