Two alumni of decade-old Sage Hill School named to 2012 FORBES magazine's elite "30 under 30" list as leaders in areas of food & wine and social & mobile

NEWPORT COAST, Calif., Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- February 27, 2012  — Last month, FORBES magazine published its "30 under 30," a list of "the people who aren't waiting to reinvent the world… the 30 disrupters under 30, in each of 12 fields, making a difference right now." Culled from across the US by a panel of FORBES readers and top business minds, this year's list of young entrepreneurs and gamechanges includes Mark Ramadan (age 25, Food & Wine) and Matthew Schlicht (age 23, Social & Mobile), two recent graduates of Sage Hill School, an entrepreneurial-minded high school founded just over a decade ago in Orange County, California.

A Start-Up High School Inspires Its Students

In the mid-1990's a group of parents came together to build Orange County's first and only non-denominational, not-for-profit college preparatory high school. Like any start-up venture, they began with ideas and inspiration, spread their message and ultimately raised $30 million dollars to build a state-of-the-art campus, hired an expert administration and faculty, and funded financial aid to ensure the student body would reflect the full cultural and socio-economic diversity of the Orange County community. When Sage Hill School's doors opened in September 2000 with the motto, "the tradition begins with you," a young Mark Ramadan was one of the first 120 students, a member of the school's first four-year graduating class.  In 2002, Matthew Schlicht also enrolled at Sage Hill School, where he pursued a passion for technology and even worked on the school's first custom website.

Spending four years in an entrepreneurial environment rubbed off on these graduates. Mark Ramadan went on to attend Brown University, where he and his partner created Sir Kensington's Gourmet Scooping Ketchup out of their dorm rooms before fully launching in 2010. His products are currently sold in 1000 plus retailers, including Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma. Matt Schlicht  and his business partner, fellow Sage Hill classmate Mazy Kazerooni (who attended the school for several years), are well known in the Silicon Valley. Schlicht and Kazerooni met at Sage Hill, and formed the foundation for their future ventures on the school's campus. Within a short time after graduation, the social media wunderkinds grew rapper Lil Wayne's Facebook following to 30 million and have parlayed that success into their music startup, Tracks.by.

School Culture and Programming for Self-Starters

Sage Hill's Head of School Gordon McNeill, a former technology entrepreneur, explains that the school culture is specifically designed to encourage students to find opportunities to engage and develop their passions. "As a school founded by visionaries who saw infinite possibilities for the future, Sage Hill School is unbound by traditional limitations of 'how things have always been done.'  Instead, we encourage our students to think outside the box and take ownership of their role in the school community. We intentionally give our students time and space to design, market, and implement community service initiatives, initiate and lead their own clubs and organizations, and create their own internships and independent study opportunities."

To expand the school's commitment to its entrepreneurial spirit, McNeill goes on to explain that the school launched a year-end program in 2010 in which students have a full week to enroll in intensive seminars in topics including "Sports Management," "History of Wall Street" and "The Entrepreneurial Spirit" (taught by McNeill himself, with guest lecturers from some of Orange County's leading business men and women), pursue internships or travel the globe (destinations have included China, Malaysia, Russia and Viet Nam.) Other unique school offerings for the budding business entrepreneur include year-long courses such as Financial Literacy and Scientific Research, as well as a four-year Chinese language study program, one of few in the county.

To continue to inspire its future graduates, Sage Hill School invites alumni  (most not more than 3 or 4 years out of college) to speak at its annual Commencement ceremony. Ramadan was the speaker in 2010 and Schlict will be the speaker in 2012. He plans to discuss his philosophy for success, including his belief that "if you want to make an impact on the world, do it by creating something that improves people's lives." Sage Hill School's founders and current leaders couldn't agree more.

To find links to the full FORBES articles on Mark Ramadan and Matthew Sclicht, visit Sage Hill's website  http://www.sagehillschool.org/podium/default.aspx?t=204&nid=755025

Sage Hill School is Orange County's only not-for-profit independent, nonsectarian, coed college preparatory high school, located on thirty acres in Newport Coast, CA. Founded in 2000, the school provides a premier education for its 440-plus students through small class sizes averaging 15 students per teacher, world-class educators, an outstanding program of curricular and co-curricular offerings, highly personalized college counseling, and a public purpose. Sage Hill aims to transform the lives of its students by inspiring a love of knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge creatively, compassionately and courageously throughout their lives.

Media Contact: Torrey Olins, Sage Hill School, (949) 219-1346, olinst@sagehillschool.org

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SOURCE Sage Hill School

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