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# Stomp and circumstance
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/stomp-and-circumstance/
- Published: 2004-06-18T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:33:00.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Santa Monica High stages 150th graduation ceremony*

*By Daily Press staff*

SAMOHI — Seven hundred and fifty-one Vikings sailed into adulthood Thursday evening amid the 150th graduation ceremony at Santa Monica High School.

Thousands of friends, parents and community leaders attended the commencement event, cheering and snapping photos as the students filtered into the Greek Theater.

“I have never been so mindful as in today’s society that being men and women of integrity is a tough task,” said John Deasy, superintendent of local schools. “Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will always be a graduate of Samohi and make us proud.”

The ceremony was punctuated by several student speeches and songs, including a tap dance performance by Maud Arnold and a presentation of the “Ten things to do before you enter the real world,” by graduating students Amelia Katkov, Elena Megalos and Thalia Roussos.

Among the ten things the trio suggested was to climb to the top of the stairs in the history building and look out at the ocean, take lots of pictures, spend an entire day alone and write letters to the people who’ve had an influence on you — even if they are never able to read them.

Samohi began as the Sixth Street School in 1891\. The cornerstone of the current school was dedicated in 1912, and today the campus covers 33 acres.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/061804-01_01.jpg)

CLASS ACT: Samohi graduate Maud Arnold performs “Tapping into the Future” to the delight of thousands of students and supporters. (Photo: John Wood/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 18, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061804.pdf?ref=smdp.com)