Elijah Miller ’25: Finding a Balance

          From playing Hill Day to singing in the Fall Musical, most Lawrenceville students would say that sports and performing arts are two of the most time-consuming extracurricular offerings at Lawrenceville. Every grade contains a diverse group of students—some are incredibly active on the KAC stage, while others are valued members of varsity teams.

          Students who perform exceptionally well in both, however, are significantly more rare.

          Elijah Miller ’25 embodies what it means to be a well-rounded Lawrentian as he takes on two very distinct positions at School—a member of the Varsity Track and Field team and the incoming Co-President and Co-Head of Acting of the Periwig Council. Most recently, he starred as math genius Oliver Rivers in Periwig’s final production of the year, Puffs, Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a School for Magic and Magic. Alongside Periwig and track and field, Miller is also a Ropes Course Instructor, a member of the Sustainability Council, and an editor for the Lawrenceville Science Reports.

          Miller’s participation in varsity sports began after he arrived at Lawrenceville. After contemplating which spring sport to select during his II Form year, he tried out for varsity track and field and was selected to be a part of the team.

          On the other hand, Miller’s experience with performing arts began much earlier . “My family was very musically inclined,” he described, “We love music, so I started in middle school with musicals and performing arts.” At Lawrenceville, he furthered  his passion by taking Foundations of Theater with Chair of the Performing Arts Department Matthew Campbell, who encouraged him to audition for Our Town, the Spring Play his II Form year. “It all kind of started there,” he recalled. Since joining the performing arts at Lawrenceville, he has been a part of six productions, including “the past two musicals, the past two Winterfests, and most recently, Puffs, [the Spring play].”

          Partaking in such an array of high-intensity activities is no easy task, even for a Lawrentian. Miller mentioned that time management is the biggest challenge he has faced while doing both performing arts and athletics. “Especially during Puffs, I would be done with track at 5 PM, and then I would be right over [at the KAC],” he said, outlining his evening routine this spring. The quick turn-around between varsity practices and rehearsals, both of which can happen daily for hours on end, can make it difficult to find time for homework, let alone allow Miller to take a break. 

          With the intense rigor of academics alone, making the decision to participate in both performing arts and a varsity sport is one that some may question. When prompted with the question, “why,” Miller responded with a personal remark: “I like to hang out with these people; I think they are both great communities. I like to surround myself with people who are fun [and] really care about what they’re doing.” According to him, the experience of doing both sports and arts is  rewarding, mainly because of the people, both students and faculty, whom he can perform on the stage and play on the field with.