Senior painted parking at Truckee High has been a long-standing tradition. Each August, seniors can pay for a spot and paint it. This year, after Senior Sunrise, most seniors went out in the very sunny West Wing lot to paint their spots.
This year, it was tough to get a senior spot if someone wanted one because “we have close to 200 seniors and only 55 available senior painted spots,” said Mr. Estabrook, our assistant Principal. He said he “believes the process was clear and the communication with the seniors was consistent and fair (through school email), notifying 2025 seniors at the end of last year and sending reminders in the summer when to be looking for the senior parking application email. Once a senior completed the application process and submitted it was time-stamped, taking the first 55 seniors to apply.”
Having a senior spot requires proof of a valid driver’s license and insurance before they can apply for approval. If someone has all of that, they will get an email if they are approved after they submit the form and pay the 20 dollars on the school website. Once approved, seniors receive a packet with important information and a place to draw their designs to get approved for painting.
Painting a senior spot can be fun, but it is a lot of work, depending on how much effort one puts into their design. The first step of the process is getting the materials required to paint the spot. What’s super fun about senior spots is that it is a creative process that requires planning and picking out what someone needs for their spot. ACE Hardware on Donner Pass Rd. is a convenient place to get supplies but it is expensive. If someone has any paint or extra painting supplies or knows someone who does, it could save them from buying everything at ACE. If someone wants a specific color of paint, they should buy it ahead of time and wear clothes they don’t mind getting paint on.
Wear sunscreen and a hat. Bring a towel to sit on, lawn chairs, stools, paint brushes, rollers, roller extension, and anything else to help with your design, friends, and family. Before starting, it is beneficial to clean the spot with a broom and tape off the edges. Then, paint a base coat, usually white, to help with the brightness. Since people are probably painting over a previous person’s spot, peeling paint is present, so the more layers of paint, the better, and it will last through the snow, and the colors will be brighter. When painting a spot, using exterior or road paint can help with the place’s longevity. After it’s done, put all the materials in a plastic bag to help avoid messiness.
Maeve Kristian, a senior at Truckee High, said: “I feel like there was a lot of planning because first I had to pick what I wanted my spot to be, so I like drew my whole mountain scene that I was going to put on it and then I painted it on a piece of paper which help me decide what I needed.” She got the idea for her spot based on a drawing that she had done previously. Regarding cost, Kristian’s mom works at ACE, so she got an employee discount, but it still ended up being 60 dollars, even with the reduced price. She also had to come back to get more of one color. Regarding the process, Kristian states, “I taped my spot first, then after that, I taped my design, and then I did the background color first, and I tried to do two coats of each color. She said it took “three days and one day where I just taped.” She recommended using chalk to draw designs and using “bonk” paint, which is 10 dollars at ACE, and going into the lumber yard where there is a bin where there is free recycled paint. She also said to wear something you don’t care about if you get paint on. Additionally, a paint opener is a key tool for painting. “Don’t leave your trash and clean up!” Kristian says.
Reflecting on this year’s process and moving forward, Mr. Estabrook said, “I am open to suggestions to improve the parking application process. Something I would change moving forward would be opening up more parking spots for seniors and allowing other parking lots to be painted for seniors.”
The seniors painted their spots with creative designs, making this a big senior event. Painting spots is a fun way to kick off the school year for many seniors and bring on the reality that this is their final year of high school. It can be costly, but knowing you have your spot for the whole year is truly exciting.