Forbes magazine selected six alumni for its annual 30 Under 30 North America list announced Nov. 29.

The six chosen alumni are Lukas Czinger ’12 in the Manufacturing Industry category, Vivien Mao ’12 in Hollywood & Entertainment, Dominque Gordon ’15 in Games, Dillon Rosenblatt ’16 in Sports, Chase Rosenblatt ’18 in Social Media and Amelie Zilber ’20 in Social Media. Czinger is a co-founder and Senior Vice President of Czinger Vehicles and Divergent RD, Mao is a producer of The Littlefield Company, Gordon is a product manager of Xbox, Dillon Rosenblatt is a CEO of Autograph, Chase Rosenblatt is a Co-founder of Adim and Zilber is a social media creator.

Since launching its first 30 Under 30 list in 2011, Forbes has expanded to creating continental lists for Asia, Europe and Africa. The North American list recognizes 30 young entrepreneurs, leaders and founders in 20 industries who have launched creative companies to address issues such as global warming, reproductive health, student debt and financial freedom.

Forbes compiled this year’s list with the help of independent judges and experts who evaluated more than 12,000 candidates based on factors such as funding, revenue, social impact, inventiveness and potential.

Mao, who has created productions for ABC and Hulu, has pushed for diversity, with over 90% of her projects featuring diverse showrunners and stories. Mao said she credits the school for her ambition to reach her potential.

“One of the things I’ve taken for granted but realized [the school] instilled in me is pure ambition,” Mao said. “I think when you are surrounded by talented, successful people during your formative years, you are able to clearly visualize both your own potential and the potential of your peers.”

Mao said she considers this honor as another opportunity to represent diverse communities.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say [being selected for Forbes 30 Under 30] was always a dream of mine, but it’s one of those things where the chances of actually being selected are staggering,” Mao said. “It’s an honor to be recognized for elevating diverse voices and stories. It’s a wonderful benchmark, but I want to make sure I keep pushing further.”

Chase Rosenblatt, who co-founded Adim, a Web3 community that connects creators and writers to work on plots, characters and projects for potential shows and movies, said his experience at the school has helped him achieve a successful career.

“Harvard-Westlake set me up for a successful career for two main reasons,” Chase Rosenblatt said. “The first was time management. When dealing with an overwhelming workload, [Harvard-Westlake] taught me how to prioritize and tackle [work] when there is a ton on your plate. The second was opening my eyes to alternative industries such as film and the arts through an extremely well-thought-out creative track. One of my favorite classes was Cinema Studies.”

Regarding the long-term effect of being selected for Forbes 30 Under 30, Chase Rosenblatt said he concentrated on his own personal goals rather than on achievements deemed impressive by others.

“[Being selected] was never a milestone or something I strived towards,” Chase Rosenblatt said. “As a young man, I set goals, such as: find happiness in what you do and work with people you love, solve hard problems and question everything. I knew success would come eventually if I kept my head down and focused on what I found important, not what others told me to value.”

Director of External Relations Ed Hu said he is not surprised to find many alumni on the list for Forbes 30 Under 30, especially in recent years.

“I’m always impressed but not surprised to see multiple [Harvard-Westlake] related names on these 30 Under 30 lists,” Hu said. “I don’t know how long Forbes has been publishing that list, but I don’t recall a year in the last several years where there weren’t multiple names [from our school]. I guess what I’m most proud of is the fact that those names always appear in different categories. Our graduates are having an impact in a diverse range of industries and that speaks to Harvard-Westlake’s ability to attract and hopefully cultivate talented young people not just in one or two areas, reflecting the multi-faceted strengths of the Harvard-Westlake experience.”

Hu said the common thread behind these alumni and their success is reflected in the school’s motto.

“I often think about the motto of the school, ‘Possunt Quia Posse Videntur,’ which loosely translates to ‘They can because they think they can,’” Hu said. “ Each of these individuals had passions and dreams which they fervently followed. That’s what Harvard-Westlake students do.”

This story was originally published on The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle on December 14, 2022.