CENTRALIA, IL — Chad Beguelin, a Centralia native and member of the Centralia High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame, is reminding students of an upcoming deadline to apply for his Fine Arts Scholarship program.

Beguelin, six-time Tony nominee established the scholarship program to encourage young people to pursue careers in all aspects of the arts. Focusing on the south-central Illinois area, he has awarded ten scholarships since 2015.

Chad is an American playwright and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book for The Prom and Disney’s Aladdin, as well as additional lyrics for the score.

He’s also known for having written the lyrics and co-written the book for the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer and the lyrics for the Broadway musical Elf the Musical.

The Chad Beguelin Fine Arts Scholarship award is $5,000 and may be used for any expenses related to a scholar’s pursuit of an arts education.

The Chad Beguelin Fine Arts Scholarship is awarded annually to a student who is seeking an undergraduate or graduate degree in some facet of the arts.

This may include, but is not limited to, performance, education, technology and administration.

An applicant must be or have been involved in some way with the activities of the Centralia (Illinois) Cultural Society, including any of its member organizations.

The applicant must be at least 18 years of age and/or a high-school graduate at the time of a scholarship award. Deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 30, 2022.