Nine Laguna Blanca students were honored recently at a Cum Laude Induction Ceremony in the school’s Spaulding Theatre for demonstrating academic excellence (top 10 percent of junior class, top 20 percent of senior class), good character, honor, and integrity in all aspects of school life.

Inducted as juniors were Luming (Lucy) Cao, Audrey Murphy, Kai Nakamura, Caetano Perez-Marchant, and Katherine (Kiki) Tolles. Senior inductees included Bowen (Tony) Bai, Jordan Bollag, Bennett Coy and Jack Stein.

Senior students who were inducted as juniors in 2018 — Caitlin Gainey, Sullivan Israel, Isabella Sabino and Julia Stone — shared vignettes about each inductee before they were presented with a certificate and a Cum Laude Society pin.

Nicholas Miller, a 1998 alumnus, was the keynote speaker at the induction ceremony.

He joked about how the Class of 1998 thought they were a pretty big deal during their time at Laguna. However, he was quick to recognize his Laguna education was a priceless gift from his parents and that the small environment and strong sense of community are aspects he has been trying to recreate ever since graduating.

Miller said he also now realizes that the small nature of the Laguna community provides an opportunity for every student to feel like a “big deal.” He urged students to remember that Laguna has supported them and will continue to support them in the future.

A graduate of Bowdoin College, Miller started his career at a marketing consulting firm in Boston before returning to California to work for the family business, The Thornhill Companies, to which he’s dedicated his efforts since 2004.

As vice president of sales and marketing, he has played a key role in the company’s industry-leading successes, and served as a strategic counsel in the company’s recent configuration of Miller Family Wine Company.

In 2013 he was selected by The Wine Enthusiast magazine for its first named group of Top 40 Under 40 Tastemakers in the U.S. Miller lives in Hope Ranch with his wife Shelly and his three children.

Founded in 1906, the Cum Laude Society is dedicated to honoring scholastic achievement in secondary schools.

Laguna Blanca is a not-for-profit EK-12 co-educational, college preparatory day school. For more information, visit www.lagunablanca.org or contact 805.687-2461.

— Tara Broucqsault for Laguna Blanca School.