An annual tradition at Park is for seniors to decorate overalls and wear them on the Friday of homecoming week. This year, the seniors went all out in designing their overalls, displaying their creativity and school spirit.
According to senior Maggie Tight, painting the senior overalls is a special tradition because it is a artistic project that students look forward to before their senior year, as well as something special just for the senior grade.
“The overalls are really fun because you can get creative with it and it is something that just seniors do. It’s something you look forward to all four years of high school,” Tight said.
Principal LaNisha Paddock said she has seen many students embracing the tradition of the senior overalls through various designs and individual creations that each student has made. Paddock said that she was so inspired, she may even get a pair of overalls for herself in the 2026-27 school year.
“I am impressed by the seniors because they are super creative in the different ways that they made each unique style with their overalls this year. So much so that I was told that I should get my own and I might just do that next year,” Paddock said.
According to senior Campbell Jones, she combined different design aspects of overalls that she found on social media, her favorite part being a special pattern on her overalls.
“My inspiration was from looking at pictures on Pinterest. I looked at different elements that I liked from different pieces and then put them all together into one,” Jones said. “My favorite part is the Snoopy pattern on the back of my overalls.”
Tight said the process of making her overalls consisted of her buying craft supplies from different stores and online websites. After that, she painted the overalls and decorated them with trim.
“First, I went to Hobby Lobby and I bought a bunch of supplies like paint, fabrics and patches. I ordered whatever I couldn’t find there (Hobby Lobby) on Amazon. Then I painted them with a bunch of layers of paint and also put a bunch of trim on everything,” Tight said.
According to Jones, designing her senior overalls didn’t come without challenges. She found it difficult to cut out pieces of fabric and prevent the puffy paint that she used on her overalls from smudging.
“The most challenging part was cutting out all the different pieces of fabric. I also did puffy paint around my letters, which smudged multiple times, so that was very challenging,” said Jones.
According to Paddock, the tradition of senior overalls helps to build a positive community at Park that is unique from the cultures at other schools.
“(Designing senior overalls) makes for a positive culture and climate. Every community is unique, and I think that (senior overalls) is something that makes our community really unique in (Park),” Paddock said.
