Memories and Hopes for SAMOHI Grads

By Gene Williams
Staff Writer

June 23 -- School’s out. It ended this week and summer began for 12,500 Santa Monica and Malibu students. Now they’re getting ready for family vacations and travel, maybe a summer job, camp or summer school, perhaps new schools next fall.

The end of the school year is a time of change for students and their families, especially for graduating high school seniors, many of whom will be leaving home for college in just three short months.

The Lookout talked with a few of this year’s 600 Santa Monica High School graduates Thursday as they gathered in the campus quad one last time to exchange hugs and pose for family photos before marching into the Greek Theater to “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Here is what they said they’ll miss about SAMOHI, and what they plan for the future.

Jennifer Kudo (Photos by Gene Williams)

Like many of the grads, Jennifer Kudo is looking forward to college, but says she is going to miss her old school. Kudo is leaning toward a career in medicine, but isn’t ready to limit her options just yet:

“What I’ll miss most about SAMOHI is the high school experience just in general. It was a lot of fun, and once you go to college a lot of things change.

“This summer I want to go and visit my grandparents in Hawaii, with some of my friends maybe, and next year I’m going to UCSB (University of California Santa Barbara).

“In the future I’m thinking about being a doctor, though I’m not sure which kind, and I might change my major. But for now, I want to be a doctor, because helping people would be fun, and I think it would be a good thing to be.”

Bruce Oberon-Levoff

Bruce Oberon-Levoff is also headed to Santa Barbara in the fall, although his long-range plans will likely take him farther away from home:

“What I’ll miss most about SAMOHI is probably my friends.

“This summer I’ll be working a lot, and I’ll maybe go to Mexico. Next year I’m going to be going to UC Santa Barbara, and I’ll still be working at Starbucks.

“In the future I plan to work in China, maybe to teach English or do business, I don’t know exactly what. I just really like China.”

Christopher Parise

Christopher Parise said he will miss “the friends, the lunches and the teachers” at SAMO but is leaving with a lot of good memories. Parise plans a future in music:

“My favorite class or subject would definitely have to be music. I enjoy music because it is the only esthetic way where I feel I can express myself.

“This summer I’ll be working at Step by Step, which is a day care for little children.

Next year I’ll be going to University of California Los Angeles, and in the future I plan to be really happy. Just to be happy and be a musician.”

Suki Gershenhorn, center, with friends

Surrounded by celebrating classmates, Suki Gershenhorn will be leaving many friends behind at SAMO, but is sure to make many new ones where she is going.

Gershenhorn said she favors the arts, although she doesn’t seem to have the details of her future pinned down just yet:

“My favorite class is probably art, I’m an artist, and what I’ll miss most about SAMOHI is the diversity.

“This summer I’m going to work a little bit part time, and I’m going to travel to Argentina.

“Next year I’m going to the University of California Santa Cruz, and in the future I plan to be a professional.”

Carlton Fortenberry

Carlton Fortenberry is part of SAMOHI’s nine-student team which won the national Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship competition in New York last month (see article). Fortenberry summed up his plans for summer, for next year and beyond:

“What I’ll miss most about SAMOHI is all my friends that I’ve made through the years growing up.

“This summer I will take a couple of summer school classes to prepare for college, and next year I’ll be attending Colorado State University. In the future I plan to be an orthopedic surgeon.”

Sara Nudelman

Like several other grads interviewed, Sarah Nudelman said her favorite class at SAMO was AP Economics. Nudelman had some kind words for the high school’s staff.

“What I’ll miss about SAMOHI is the teachers and the counselors. The teachers here are so compassionate and understanding and the counselors are really helpful when you’re having trouble, and they allowed me to graduate this year.

“This summer I’m going to work as a counselor at a kid’s summer camp, as well as go to Hawaii with a friend’s family.

“Next year I’m going to UC Berkeley, where I’ll go to school with my brother and hopefully begin premed and become a dermatologist in the future.”