The first rite of passage for any incoming senior might be the opportunity to claim their own parking space and leave their mark on campus – at least for the year. It all starts with an offer at the end of junior year: $60 to paint your own space, right up front, just a short walk from the school entrance.
For the class of 2026, there were 30 students who took up the offer. After paying their fee, the seniors’ next step was getting their designs approved.
There were a few rules to keep designs school-appropriate:
No offensive language, pictures, or symbols. No negative or rude language (Be kind). No “gang-style tagging.” No double entendres (Double meanings). No flags No political statements, messages, or symbols
Once that was all squared away, it was time to buy supplies – paint, tape, brushes – and get to work. They had the summer to finish up before the parking lot was full again with student traffic.
Story continues below advertisement
Each spot has its own story. Some seniors chose to share:
Behind the Paintbrush
“I originally wanted to paint the Guam flag, but I quickly realized that flags weren’t allowed. Since I love the islands, I decided instead to paint the ocean with a sunset in the background!” (
Ambrielle Chun )
Ambrielle Chun pictures her paradise
WORTH IT " Well I was originally going to take a late start so I wanted a good parking spot. Yet I still decided to fill up my schedule and still keep the spot."
HOURS OF WORK "In total, it took me around 6 to 7 hours to finish painting this spot. I did it all in one day, so I got to my spot around 10:30 am and finished at 5 pm."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "I think it was difficult painting the white base layer, it was really hot outside when I did it so I just felt like I was painting areas over and over again."
RESPECT "I got a lot of compliments on my spot, but I don't think it's as good as the others around me!"
ADVICE "It would be better to go during the night and definitely have your family or friends help you. Not only does it get really hot, but I got a little lonely painting in an empty parking lot."
COSTS "I think the parking spot was around $60 dollars, the materials itself was $218."
“I originally was going to paint that scene in Spiderman into the spider verse when Peter says ‘alright, let’s do this one more time.’ As in one more year of high school, but decided to paint the fire trails of the DeLorean from Back to the Future and at the top I changed the logo to say ‘back to school, year 12′” (
Blake Kearney )
Blake Kearney blazes a trail
WORTH IT "To be able to have it reserved and because I thought it'd be cool to have one. Part of the senior year experience yk."
HOURS OF WORK "Not that many actually, maybe like 8 hours total. I could've done it in one day but decided to do it over the course of a week. Day 1 was definitely the longest and I did the most."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "Dealing with wind while painting because I had stencils that kept flying around."
RESPECT "A lot of my friends and other people have told me it's one of their favorites. Some people have also been stealing when to park without my permission and they chose it over others so I'm assuming they like it more I guess."
ADVICE "Save money up beforehand so you don't go broke painting it, and get help, it's a lot of work."
COSTS Spot: $60
“My moms best friend recently died of cancer so I chose daisies which were here favorite to honor her. Then orange is my favorite color. There is also a white thumbprint heart that I did with my best friend Liv.” (
Malaya Cockcroft )
Malaya Cockcroft plants a memory
WORTH IT "I have late start and usually run late so I wanted a for sure close spot."
HOURS OF WORK "Maybe 15, towards the end of summer during the days I don’t work."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "It would rain, or it just took so much time especially with layers and touch ups."
RESPECT "Pretty well."
ADVICE "It’s expensive and don’t do a lot of words or a drastic design because it will take a lot of time. Also put up cones to show it’s drying."
COSTS " Around $180."
“When I found out about getting a spot I went straight to Pinterest. I had found one idea and originally submitted it but then I start thinking more about it so I found a different idea and it is so much better. It’s a mix of a whole bunch of different designs all in one.” (
Kendra Reid )
Kendra Reid creates a cut scene
WORTH IT "I kept seeing them on TikTok and I saw the ones from last year. So I thought it was really cool and so I applied and got a spot."
HOURS OF WORK "I believe it took us about 8 or 9 hours in the span of 2 days. I did most of the work on the second day because the first day I only painted the base coat so it had a couple days to dry."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "I think the most difficult part was coming up with the design and figuring out the colors."
RESPECT "A lot of people have come and told me they really enjoyed it and that it’s really cute."
ADVICE "One thing I would tell someone is don’t underestimate how much paint you need for the base. The concrete absorbs a good amount of paint so make sure you have at least a gallon. I also would say just have fun with it."
COSTS " The spot was 60 dollars. And I think for the rest of the supplies, we used it all, and it came out to be about $200."
“I originally chose a different design that said “the last rodeo” since it went together with our band (and show choir) theme. but I had a dream a couple days prior to painting where I had a Hello Kitty design instead. So I sketched it out and approved it with Ullery and Johnson 30 hours before our scheduled painting day.” (
McKenna Fairbrother )
McKenna Fairbrother follows her dream
WORTH IT "My main reason was for convenience, getting a spot close to the front doors and not having to search the parking lot everyday is very nice."
HOURS OF WORK "around 4 hours, in the evening."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "Free handing my design. I'm not super artistic."
RESPECT "Pretty well, I haven't had any problems yet."
ADVICE "Don't spill blue paint?"
COSTS 60- the spot
“My spot is based off of Animal Crossing, as it was my favorite game as a kid and means a lot to me because of all the memories I have around it. The logo design I used is from City Folk, the Wii version of the game, which was the first one I played.” (
Delaney Gordon )
Delaney Gordon crosses into nostalgia
WORTH IT "I really like art and I kinda just wanted to personalize my own spot."
HOURS OF WORK "I'd say at least 48 hours, I spent a lot of time out in the sun by myself in the blazing heat because I didn't feel like asking my friends to come suffer with me. During the day, I would take a whole chunk of the day off from work and such and work from noon to 5pm sometimes."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "The heat definitely was, as well as my perfectionist tendencies that wanted every line to be perfectly straight making me take forever to do it. I also forgot to wear sunscreen and ended up with the worst sunburn line of my entire life, which eventually turned into an insanely bad farmers tan that still hasn't gone away."
RESPECT "Pretty well, however, while students were still painting, people would drive over them and leave a lot of tire marks on new paint."
ADVICE "Make sure you have WAY more money than you think you need. Paint is expensive and you'll definitely have to go back and forth a few times to get more."
COSTS "The spot itself is $60 and you get $10 back if you clean it off at the end of the year, but I spent about $200 on supplies."
“I originally was going to paint Dodger from Oliver and Company as it’s my favorite movies and favorite character designs, however it was also between him or Charlie from All Dogs Go To Heaven which is my mom’s favorite movie and we both share a mutual liking of the movie. I told my mom about my choices and she ended up pushing me towards painting Charlie and i caved.” (
Savier Fleming )
Savier Fleming elevates the experience
WORTH IT "To be able to have a piece of my personality be part of the school."
HOURS OF WORK "12, the noon, there’s more people which makes it a bit more motivating and it’s bright but also not too hot."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "Absolutely the heat."
RESPECT "Fairly well except for the 2025 Nissan Sentra SR that parked in my spot during the titans vs monarchs football game."
ADVICE "Cover mistakes with white paint. Works every time."
COSTS "235 in total 150 for paint, 60 for parking spot, and 25 for painting supplies."
Joshua Singer gets Phineas-ophical
WORTH IT "The main reason I wanted my own parking spot was so I had my own place to park, and didn't have to fight over a spot."
HOURS OF WORK "5.5 hours, in the summer."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "The outline."
RESPECT "I don't think anyone else has parked in my spot."
ADVICE "Put down a base layer."
COSTS $160
“I picked my design cause I like to challenge myself when doing art, not only that Tame Impala had a perfect message that sums up my life.” (
Michaela Ellard )
Michaela Ellard records a cover
WORTH IT "I wanted a senior parking spot because it’s a fun tradition while still being able to be creative, and it guarantees I have a spot close to the front."
HOURS OF WORK "I am unsure of the hours but I know it took me at least 2 weeks to finish, at night when it was cooler."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE "Making sure my lines were straight and getting past the heat."
RESPECT "It’s been okay I kicked a parent out of my spot after I came back for an after school club."
ADVICE "I would say bring gloves, paper towels, and extra help. I also found putting cones around the spot stopped people from parking in the spot after I left to let it dry. More people drive in the parking lot than you think."
COSTS "The spot itself was $60, then brushes, paint, drop cloth, and tape cost an extra $150 at least. It might’ve not be exact to that but it was more than i expected."
