4th Sage Hill graduate makes Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ list of young innovators

A fourth Sage Hill School graduate has been named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30,” adding to the Newport Beach private school’s list of alumni honored by the magazine in the past five years.

Forbes curates a list of entrepreneurs, game changers and innovators across media, healthcare, sports and other industries.

Lisa Conn, a 2006 Sage graduate, made the cut in the law and policy category.

Conn, 29, said she gained her first management experience as co-president of the high school’s mock trial team. She recently became an employee at Facebook, where she leads a team in its community partnership program.

“I’m humbled by the honor and proud to join the Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ community of global innovators and change makers,” Conn said in a prepared statement.

She joins Jeff Cruttenden, a 2005 graduate who made the 2016 list in the finance category.

Cruttenden, 31, created a mobile startup platform, Acorns. The app rounds up credit card purchases and pushes excess payments into an investment portfolio.

He said attending a start-up school — Sage was founded in 2000 — fostered a sense of opportunity for creativity, where he wasn’t afraid to look at different angles when solving problems.

Mark Ramadan, a 2004 graduate, made the Forbes list in food and wine in 2012.

Matthew Schlicht, a 2006 graduate, made the list in social and mobile in 2012 and games and apps in 2013.

Sage Hill President Gordon McNeill credits the campus internship program with exposing students to careers early in life.

This class teaches students how to create a resume, prepare for interviews and work in a professional setting.

Internships can last a school year, a summer or two weeks.

“There are tons of careers,” McNeill said. “Kids think they want to be a lawyer, doctor or engineer, but they don’t know what that means or where that will take them. They get a leg up on that. It helps serve our kids well in the future.”

The internship program, now in its fifth year, is increasingly popular, he said.

Cruttenden said he’s taken on Sage Hill interns for Acorns.

McNeill said Sage strives to create an environment that prompts students to “see opportunity” and “get them hands-on, out in the world, listening to people who already do it.”

“They rise to the challenge, and it’s nice to watch,” he said.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella