Plum seniors donate to Make-A-Wish to paint parking spaces

Some of Plum’s incoming seniors are reserving their parking spaces in colorful and creative ways.

After paying $75 to park for the 2024-25 school year, 60 seniors paid $30 more to paint their spots, with the proceeds benefitting Make-A-Wish, said Rick Berrott, a television production teacher and co-sponsor of the National Honor Society.

The National Honor Society and TV production students stage the district’s annual telethon in December that also benefits Make-A-Wish.

With some help from parents, students began painting their spaces July 15 and were expected to continue on July 23 and July 31. Students return to classes on Aug. 21.

Berrott, who has worked at Plum since 1996, said this is the first time that Plum seniors have painted their parking spaces at the high school campus.

“This is something we’ve talked about for a couple of years,” Berrott said. “The administration gave us a go this year. The National Honor Society took the bull by the horns and went with it.”

Sherwin Williams stores in Murrysville and Monroeville gave students a discount on paint, he said.

A student who plays hockey incorporated his jersey number in his design, while another is a fan of the Netflix series “Cobra Kai” and is painting the emblem of the dojo from the “Karate Kid” franchise.

Other students got three spaces together so they could paint minions from “Despicable Me” across them, Berrott said.

“They’ve obviously taken ownership in their designs, which is really nice,” he said.

Berrott said his son, Parker, a junior this coming year, is already talking about designing his space for when he’s a senior.

“Hopefully every year this will be a traditional thing,” Berrott said.