Students painted their parking spots last week.
The Eudora High School parking lot is now an artistic tribute to pop culture references, album covers and TV show characters.
Dylan Schmidt got to see his senior year capstone project come to fruition last week.
Schmidt, who graduated in May, wanted to give seniors another chance to spend time together before graduation, while doing something to express themselves and show their creativity, he said.
This year, seniors were given the opportunity to paint their parking spots for the first time, and about 50 students participated. Now, they have a customized spot and a reserved place to park during school hours.
“It helps connect the seniors to themselves,” Schmidt said. “I just felt like it was another opportunity to get kids to connect with the school plus they get to see what they are interested in once they paint something to express themselves.”
When Schmidt had the idea, he researched other schools who had done similar projects and talked to district leaders to hear their input to make the project a success.
Even though Schmidt wasn’t around to paint his own spot, honors government teacher Chris Dunback said the project has played a role in improving the school climate and culture while giving students more ownership in their goals.
Dunback said the annual project is a way for students to get invested in their community, and bring long-lasting impact to the district, the city or the state.
“I think it teaches kids active citizenship and that they need to be invested in their communities and their towns and their counties and their states and in their country and their world to teach them to identify a problem that needs to be fixed, to try to figure out a solution,” Schmidt said.
Former Principal Ron Abel made Principal Justin Bogart aware of the project to make sure it could see the light of day this year.
The project was proposed as a way for students to connect with their school and celebrate their senior year with a relaxing project before the year gets hectic, Bogart said.
“They get to personalize not only a parking spot, they personalize their experience at the school and that’s what we want for kids,” Bogart said. “It creates a better, a stronger attachment to their school when you give them some voice and some choice and what they’re able to do.”
Students signed up for spots on a first-come, first-serve basis and had to submit their design ideas for administration to approve them, Bogart said. The spots were free to ensure everyone could have an opportunity.
Students just had to provide their own painting materials, Bogart said. Students have reservations on their spots during school hours.
Students had two days to paint their spots last week. Many brought along their talented family members to help with the process.
Senior Kenzie Yoder wanted to paint a parking spot after seeing the project at other schools.
“It just looked like just a fun way to kind of start off our senior year and just express ourselves, just to have something at the school that’s ours and that we got to make and stuff,” Yoder said.
Yoder wrote her name and added stars and other designs around it.
“I’m not a very crazy artistic person, but I was just excited to get to paint it,” she said.
Student Body President Nate Reazin helped get the project off the ground this year. He agreed the project gave students the chance to hang out and do something they enjoy.
Reazin said he worked with the school board and other district leaders to make sure the project was a success. People have loved it so far, he said.
“I love that student interaction. Another thing I like about it is every time you go to school you see something that you made that you enjoy, and I think it’s a great way to start your day,” he said.
The event will now be an annual tradition, Bogart said.
“It made me really glad to see something that we did in class to actually apply to our actual school and see that it actually got done,” Schmidt said.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]