Portions of the parking lot at Linn High School have been turned into works of art by more than 25 juniors and seniors after receiving permission to personalize their assigned parking spaces.

An idea that originally started as a class fundraiser, Marissa Gehlert and Natalie Morre spearheaded the project after getting the idea from a fellow student’s mother.

“Brandon Ely’s mother, Trisha, came to us with this idea and helped us with it,” said Morre. 

“We had this idea in the past to do just for fun,” said Gehlert. “We realized after talking to her we could use this to help future classes.”

The fundraiser earned $500 for the junior class. When more money is made, those additional funds will be added so future juniors can take advantage of their class funds.

“The money will just pass on to each junior class,” said Gehlert.

With the idea in place, the pair approached the school administration to get permission.

“We started with the principal to present him with the idea, and spoke with (former principal) Mr. Fible,” said Gehlert. “He liked it and gave us some suggestions on what we should change and what we should add. Then we had to go to the superintendent who was okay with the idea, but she said since we are making changes to the campus we better bring it to the school board. We presented it to the school board and they were all for it.”

When students become juniors they are allowed to decorate their parking spaces, but a staff member needs to be present when the painting occurs. Morre and Gehlert painted their spots a week or so before school started this year.

“It’s a lot of fun when a you do it,” said Gehlert. “I say if you have an idea just take action and see what happens with it.”

Decorating the spots allowed students to put their personalities onto a public canvas, letting them showcase their uniqueness. Gehlert and Morre found inspiration on a popular internet site.

“I saw an idea similar to this on Pinterest and thought it would be pretty cool to do it,” Gehlert said. “I chose the bright colors so it would stand out. I like bright colors like that.”

Morre added, “I saw an idea like this on Pinterest and I just decided to do my initials and use my favorite colors.”

Seniors Karlee Cox and Lizzy Heckman, best friends since pre-school, took the opportunity offered them to celebrate their lifelong friendship. The duo obtained parking spots next to each other and collaborated on artwork. 

“People used to tell us that high school was going to be different; you guys will split up and go your separate ways, but here we are,” said Heckman.

“The whole class voted and we won best girlfriends,” said Cox. “We’re really always together.”

They used the television show “Friends” as inspiration for their decoration. 

“We wanted something bright to pop out,” said Cox.

Heckman added, “We wanted to stand out against the other parking spots.”

Gehlert, Morre, Cox, and Heckman are only a few of the students at Linn High School that have decorated their parking spots. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to turn their parking spots into something that showcases who they are.