Gilbert seniors paint personal parking spots for annual tradition

GILBERT, Ariz. - Seniors at one Gilbert high school are getting creative for the start of the school year.

"Today we're here giving an opportunity for seniors to kind of put their stamp on our campus since they've been here for four years," said Principal Cari Castro.

What we know:

These seniors at Mesquite High School are spending the morning painting their very own parking spaces.

"Just having community with their friends and their families are here and just kind of decorating our campus. It's a tradition here," Castro said. "They're so creative I'm so impressed by their talent."

Showing Creativity:

School volunteer Maggie Le reflected on the significance of the campus gathering.

"It means a lot to me because, as a community, it means a lot to see students be creative with their parking spots," Le said.

Full-Circle Moment:

Many of the students are getting nostalgic, painting characters and scenes from their childhood.

"I'm painting a unicorn from a movie I really like. It's really nostalgic to me, my cousin and I doing stuff when we were kids. It's nostalgic every day seeing it," senior Ruby Ricario said.

They're also incorporating some of their hobbies.

"I'm painting a sunscreen logo and I'm doing it because I'm a lifeguard and I use it a lot," Catharine Rowley said.

Dig deeper:

It's an emotional time to be sure.

"I'm doing Bob Ross. The inspiration, I think, is just that Mesquite like his quote, no mistakes, just happy accidents because it's not a bad thing you'll always build back up and everything," senior Jaylene Ayon said.

Big picture view:

School officials are nostalgic too, and excited to see what these kids will do in their senior year and beyond.

"I had a lot of these kids as eighth graders, so they're seniors now and this is a big year for them, a lot of milestone events. So it's just great to see them do this and show up and do great things," Castro said.

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