Class has record number of valedictorians

Jewel Soiland, who studied in Spain for a semester, graduated in three years with a degree in Spanish and two courses toward an MBA that she plans to finish next year. 

Photo: Brian Stethem

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 10, 2017) California Lutheran University’s Class of 2017 has four valedictorians among its traditional undergraduates graduating Saturday, more students sharing the honor than in any previous year.

Sam Grandfield of Thousand Oaks, Amalie Melsom of Norway, Jinny Milani of Maui and Jewel Soiland of Petaluma received the Provost’s Award for Academic Excellence. They had the highest cumulative GPAs for all college work.

For the first time this year, a Provost’s Award was also awarded in the Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals program. It went to Russell Laubacher of Lake Forest.

Grandfield has been a regular on campus since he began playing cello in the University Symphony at 13. The biochemistry and molecular biology major participated in the summer research program his freshman year and conducted research last summer at the University of California, Los Angeles, as an Amgen Scholar. The president of the Beta Beta Beta biological honor society completed the University Honors Program and Departmental Honors, qualifying for Highest Honors.

Melsom completed her degree in business administration in December and is now working toward a master’s degree in international finance at the University of Dundee in Scotland. She spent five months as a marketing intern at skin care product maker Murad. She volunteered as a note taker for students with disabilities on campus and spent a month taking care of children at a church in Costa Rica while their parents worked. 

Milani is a political science major with a concentration in law and public policy and a minor in environmental studies. She spent a semester at Cal Lutheran’s study abroad program at Oxford University. A departmental assistant for the Political Science Department and a member of the College Democrats, she interned with the energy and environment team of the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

Soiland, who studied in Spain for a semester, graduated in three years with a degree in Spanish and two courses toward an MBA that she plans to finish next year. She worked to earn the Provost’s Award as a tribute to her late grandfather Marv Soiland, a generous donor whose impact on the university is marked by the Soiland Humanities Building and Soiland Recreation Center. She made her own mark as president of the Debate Team and founder of the Ballroom Dance Club. 

Laubacher is a veteran who served in Iraq from 1997 to 2003. He enrolled at Cal Lutheran shortly after earning his associate degree in 2014. Each term, he took one online and one traditional course. He continued after he started a new job in Irvine a year ago, commuting to Cal Lutheran to finish his degree in organizational leadership.