The Centralia School District wants to inspire its students by honoring past standouts.
On Monday evening, about three dozen people — including family and former teachers — gathered inside Centralia High School’s Performing Arts Center to celebrate a graduate whose curiosity and love of learning has led to an award-winning career as a neuroscientist.
There, Dr. Lindsay Schwarz was recognized as the 2026 Centralia High School Distinguished Alumni of the Year.
Schwarz graduated from CHS in 1999 before earning her bachelor’s degree in microbiology at the University of Washington. She continued on to the University of California, San Diego, where she earned a PhD in neurobiology, before completing postdoctoral work at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Stanford University.
Now, as the head of her own lab at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, Schwarz studies the brain — specifically how different neuronal circuits regulate behaviors relating to attention, memory and the so-called “fight or flight” response.
The deeper question underlying Schwarz’s work, according to her lab’s website, is how changes to these circuits impact conditions like anxiety and depression.
In 2022, Schwarz received a McKnight Award and $300,000 for her research. Other past honors include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the 2019 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, just to name a couple.
She is also a faculty member at the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Tim Browning, chair of the alumni award’s selection committee and a Centralia School Board member, began the presentation before passing the mic to Neil White, president of the Centralia Rotary Club.
The club has sponsored the award since its creation three years ago.
Before listing off Schwarz’s many accomplishments, White spoke to the ideals the selection committee looks for when determining candidates, such as prioritizing “service about self,” a principal motto of the Rotary.
“The recipients who are chosen have brought honor, not only to themselves and their families, but also to our community,” White added. "Perhaps most importantly, recipients serve as a role model and an inspiration for current and future Centralia High School students.”
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Grant echoed White’s sentiment.
“For them to see that example and model of hard work and passion and setting goals, and what they can become, is inspiring,” Grant said. “We're so appreciative of what you've accomplished, but also the example you're setting for others and how you're inspiring them.”
Grant then acknowledged Schwarz’s past teachers who helped inspire Schwarz as a student.
Schwarz called the award an “extreme honor” and made a point to thank some of those teachers herself, including Claudia Frazee, who taught Schwarz in kindergarten.
The neuroscientist credited Mary Ann White, who led the Apex program designed for advanced elementary school learners, for teaching her how to conduct research — a skill she uses every day in her profession.
“I owe so much to you and that program,” Schwarz said to White, who was in attendance.
Schwarz cited Henri Week’s high school biology class as providing her first experience as a scientist — even if she didn’t fully realize it at the time. She added that her time spent in the lab ended up being identical, in many ways, to her future day-to-day work life.
Those positive memories became “an anchor,” she said, especially when she struggled through lectures and more traditional learning.
Now that she’s a professor, Schwarz said, she still loves being in the lab every day. And her roles as both educator and scientist have given her a deeper appreciation for her past teachers.
“I just can't believe that all of you did that with extra time out of your day and resources that you probably didn't have,” Schwarz said. “And I took that for granted, of course, then, but I don't take that for granted now and I can't thank you enough for that.’
She then spoke to the underrepresentation of people from smaller areas in her chosen career path — and thus the importance of early exposure to the sciences.
“I think it's especially important to give us these extra glimpses into what these careers would be like, because you don't realize until you get to college that a lot of other students have already had those, and they're already ahead of you because they have this confidence that they just belong in those careers,” Schwarz said. “And if you don't have that experience yourself, it could feel like maybe this isn’t a career path for you.”
Schwarz acknowledged her parents, Larry and Carol Schwarz, both graduates of Centralia High School. Larry worked at the local coal mine throughout his career, while Carol worked as a librarian for the school district.
“I think you set such an example of the importance of working hard for something, and you never expected me to be the best at it,” Schwarz told them. “You just wanted me to do things that I loved and try as hard as I could at them.”
Schwarz concluded by thanking her husband, Chris Davenport, also a scientist, for being a constant cheerleader and advocate, and her son, for helping to ensure a balanced life outside of science and work.
Carol Schwarz told The Chronicle she wasn’t surprised her daughter had received this honor.
“She’s always been brave and took risks,” Carol said, before revealing that Lindsay was also an accomplished youth gymnast and member of the University of Washington’s crew team.
And she’d never rowed a boat before, Larry Schwarz added.
Claudia Frazee, Schwarz’s kindergarten teacher, wasn’t surprised by Lindsay’s accomplishments, either.
“She was one of those kids that just loves to learn,” Frazee said.
