Van Buren Seniors Leave Their Mark on The School

For some, the last year of high school ends an era and begins a journey. Saturday morning. The Van Buren senior class participated in what is known as Senior Paint Day.

Senior Paint Day allows for seniors and their family and community to come out and paint the parking spot they will use the rest of the year.

Principal Jamie Simmons said she believed Van Buren County started the painting trend in the Upper Cumberland.

“About four years ago, we started doing this. We had someone that worked with us that was from Florida,” Simmons said. “And said that this was very common to do in Florida. And we thought it was a good way to get community parent involvement. So we started it the next year and it has been a hit ever since.”

Each student designed their parking spot at the end of the last school year and turned the design into the school for final approval.

Tierra Davis said she designed her spot with simplicity in mind.

“Well I wanted to keep it as simple as possible so I didn’t have to be out here all day,” Davis said. “So I am just painting it yellow and putting the quote ‘Carpe Diem’ on it because that is a quote I have liked throughout high school.”

Some students did mind if the design took more time. Simon Boyd said his design reflects most of his interests and hobbies.

“My brother designed it but it was inspired by me. It is going to be a Mellow Yellow can because that is my favorite drink. Spewing out of it is going to be my signature and a bunch of different designs describing me, a bunch of different doodles. There is a basketball because my favorite sport is basketball and I am the manager of it. There are little stacks of money, so like money, I guess. And there is a dragon because I was born in the year of the dragon.”

Van Buren County High School seniors paint their handmade designs with family and friends.

Similarly, senior Tyler Clark said he chose his design in order to stand out.

“I am doing a design from SpongeBob. I am doing the scene where they go back and forth of ‘Who are you calling pinhead’ and ‘I’m Dirty Dan,'” Clark said. “So I am doing the pinhead part. It is going to be the most different one out here.”

Lenna Gossett said she took inspiration from her Spanish class and the Hispanic culture.

“I decided to do my favorite flower drawn, I don’t know what it is called, and a sugar skull because I love them so much,” Gossett said. “I got interested in the heritage and stuff when I was in Spanish class. And it just caught my attention so much I was just like, ‘I like sugar skulls so much why can’t I just do it everywhere?'”

Lenna Young said she designed her parking spot considering the country she was born in.

“It was Ukraine and I am just going to draw all of it white and then draw half the side blue and half yellow,” Young said. “It means a lot to me to do this to my parking spot.”

Among the other designs, many incorporated their jersey number or sport they planned throughout high school.

Zach Rodriguez incorporated basketball and baseball into his parking spot.

“I played here for all my years of high school for basketball,” Rodriguez said. “And I started playing baseball here, my sophomore year. So yeah, it is pretty important.”

As the students start the last year before graduation, most seniors said they just want senior year to be fun.

Mason Simmons, who used the Atlanta Braves logo in his design, said he wants to use senior year for a headstart in biochemical engineering.

“Really trying to get as much college out of the way before we graduate this year, just looking forward to that,” Simmons said. “I’m going to have a pretty tough major, so really just get the basic classes out of the way.”

As for goals, all students said they want to graduate and continue forward with their dreams.

Twenty-eight out of fifty-seven students signed up for Senior Paint Day.