Schools
Columbia Inducts Two to Hall of Fame
The Maplewood and South Orange high school honors two past graduates.
Columbia High School inducted its two newest members, Mark Blum and Julie Brill, to its Hall of Fame.
Two separate ceremonies took place Friday morning to accommodate all the high school students to honor the past graduates.
In order to be selected for this honor, the nominees had to have been role models for other students while they were at Columbia. They also must be distinguished in their field of endeavor, be leaders in their professions and be dedicated to the betterment of society.
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Blum, a 1968 graduate, is an Obie award-winning actor who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on television and in films. He currently teaches at the HB Studio in New York and in the graduate training program at Brooklyn College.
Thirty-five years after Brill’s graduation in 1977, she serves in the White House as the commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, where she has worked since 2010.
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The Columbia High School Hall of Fame was first established in 1985 by then student council president, Andrew Shue, who was himself inducted in 1994 with his sister, Elizabeth Shue. The Columbia Student Council oversees the Hall of Fame and, along with a faculty committee, selects nominees from a long list of very accomplished graduates.
Brill after high school went to Princeton University and then to New York University School of Law on full scholarship.
Over the years, she received several national awards for her work protecting consumers, including the National Association of Attorneys General Marvin Award for her “outstanding leadership, expertise, and achievement in advancing the goals of the association,” Privacy International’s Brandeis Award for her work on state and federal privacy issues, and the National Association of Attorneys General’s Privacy Award.
Blum, who got his start in acting at Columbia, where he appeared in “Guys and Dolls”, “Arsenic and Old Lace”, “South Pacific” and the “Fantastiks,” went on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MFA in Acting from the University of Minnesota.
He acted in “Crocodile Dundee”, “The Presidio” and “Lovesick” to name a few and on television was a regular on “Capital News” and “Sweet Surrender.”
