Parking in style: South Walton seniors add personal touches to their designated spots

For the most part they are all different, said Vanessa Bump, a teacher and senior sponsor at South Walton.

From Batman to Mario Brothers and the solar system to sports, each student splashed their art on the parking lot.

At the end of last year, the juniors were asked what they thought would be a good senior privilege. The idea of reserved parking came up.

It became a vivid reality last week. Bump said the idea behind painting the spaces is to start a tradition and boost school spirit.

The cost per parking space is $5 per year.

It was first come, first served, Bump said. And not a single one of them was fighting over spots.

Before the seniors could paint their spots, they had to draw a sketch and submit it to Principal David Preast for approval.

Fifty-nine seniors signed up to paint. As of mid-week, 29 had made their mark.

All have showed up with a couple of gallons of paint and have been good about sharing, Bump said. Weve even had parents out helping.

The students had to use water-based exterior latex.

Kristy Potter simply put as her initials on her spot but in gigantic fashion. She then put her hand-prints in the corner.

Mackenzie Watson said she completed her space in about 2 hours. She put her name on her spot, along with a basketball and a softball to represent the sports she plays.

Katarina Sykes had a hard time deciding on what to put on her parking space.

This is my fourth time repainting this, she said as she finally decided on a cheetah spots. Im a perfectionist.

Tyler Toledo, who is a musician, got everybody involved in his parking spot. First he put down the words Music and Rhythm and then some piano keys. He had several students put their handprints on the keys.

Cassidy Whitson painted her spot to look like the solar system.

I just thought it would be cool, she said. And the colors pop against the black.