Seniors who drive to school were offered the opportunity to show their talent, their personality, and their interests by customizing their parking spaces.

Principal Josh Vincent was looking for a way to encourage students to show their school spirit.

“We’ve seen them at other schools,” Vincent said. “It seemed like a good way to connect to the school.”

Officials had been thinking about the idea for a few years, but, as it did with many other things, COVID got in the way.

Jack Darling focused on soccer and the team’s newly renovated field in painting his parking space at the school.

“This summer it was definitely something I wanted to bring back for the kids,” he said. “It’s a ‘Happy Senior Year’ thing… a positive start to the year.”

There were a number of themes to the parking spaces.

“I like how graffiti art looks,” Ruby Alburger said.

In that style, she wrote, “Don’t just exist… Live.”

“Why would you float around space when you can fly?” she asked.

uby Alburger painted her parking space at the school in a graffiti style with an inspirational message.

She and her friends, Abbey, Louis, and Zia, completed the work under time pressure in about five hours. She wanted to fade the colors in the letters – a technique known as ombre.

“Mixing for pink kept turning out purple,” she said. Despite that challenge, “I’m very happy with it.”

Jack Darling’s space is a miniature version of a very specific soccer field. “Soccer is a big part of my life,” he said.

“The new field at War Memorial has different colors of green,” he said. “I thought that was cool.”

The alternating green field features ‘Dragons’ and Darling’s #10 to personalize it. Getting those touches right in the center was the challenging part of the project.

Autumn Machemer said her senior year crept up on her.

With that thought in mind, she scouted Pinterest for ideas.

Her quote – “Holy cow, it’s sr. year” – reflects that surprise and “goes along with my personality,” she said.

With “questionable help” from her significant other, Tristian, she finished her project in under four hours, she said.

“They turned out really well,” Vincent said.

He thanked Superintendent Amy Stewart, Operations Manager David Undercoffer, and Safety and Security Coordinator Brandon Deppen for their approval of the project.

Seniors who were interested had to fill out some information. “They had to have a design that was approved,”

More than 20 seniors signed up. Over the course of two Saturdays, the students installed their horizontal artworks.

“The students provided all of their own supplies,” Vincent said. “We provided the supervision and, on the first Saturday, we had a cookout.”

“I think the best part was that it wasn’t just the students who showed up,” Vincent said. “It was the students, their parents, and families.”

Like the seniors themselves, school officials expect the artworks to leave the school.

“It’s exterior latex paint,” Vincent said. He was told by officials at schools that have similar programs that “most of it’s going to be worn off after the winter anyway.”

Still, next year’s seniors might want to inherit the art and they will be given that opportunity.

Or, they are welcome to start with – or create – a clean slate from which to create their own parking spaces of art.