Sage Hill Alumni
Alumnus & Trustee Emeritus Guides Nonprofit’s Vision to Add Housing at Santa Ana HQ
Paolo Leon ‘04 didn’t grow up with a road map to college. He credits the nonprofit Think Together with lighting his way to Sage Hill and ultimately becoming a principal at an acclaimed Orange County architecture firm.
Leon now serves as lead architect for Think Together’s planned mixed-use redevelopment of its Santa Ana headquarters, which includes 270 residential units for workforce housing.
Leon and his fellow Think Together board members expect this $150 million investment in the three-acre campus will generate a reliable revenue stream to support underserved students with after-school and summer learning opportunities that prepare them for college and careers, The Orange County Business Journal reports.
As a child growing up in the Shalimar neighborhood of Costa Mesa, Leon was raised by parents who often juggled multiple jobs to support their family. He fondly remembers the novelty of walking into the Shalimar Learning Center, one of Think Together’s earliest ventures, and meeting people who genuinely wanted to tutor and mentor him. The connections encouraged Leon to enroll in Sage Hill’s inaugural freshman class.
“I think one of the things Sage Hill does really well is amplify and create opportunities to let those parts of ourselves come out, and through that exploration, eventually achieve,” Leon said.
Although Leon came to Sage Hill with a clear interest in architecture, he quickly realized his middle school education was very different from his peers.
“When I think about my transition over to Sage Hill, it was a challenging one, especially that first semester,” Leon said. “I was with a peer group that had exposure to opportunities and learning opportunities that I didn't have.”
He credits Math teacher Rena Dear and now-retired Visual Art teacher Donna Okamura with helping him academically catch up to his classmates.
Sage Hill is also where Leon met his future wife, Candice Romero ’04, and the couple became high school sweethearts in their sophomore year. The couple were overjoyed to welcome their second son to the world earlier this month.
Teachers and advisors taught Leon the importance of serving others. As a senior, he was elected student body president as a member of the first graduating class to attend all four years at Sage Hill. After earning his bachelor’s degree in architecture from USC and MBA in Entrepreneurship from Chapman University, Leon returned to Sage Hill as both an alumnus and trustee. During his eight years on the Board of Trustees, he served as Chair of the Facilities Committee.
Leon encourages Sage Hill community members, including fellow alumni, parents and grandparents to see how they can be of service and offer opportunities to students from all backgrounds.
“I’m fully aware that I've had a lot of assistance getting to where I am, achieving the things that I have and having the opportunities that have brought me to where I am,” Leon said. “Any volunteer opportunity that we might have the chance to participate in, they really matter to someone, and they make a great difference.”
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.