Alexander Alusheff

Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING – Kaila Davidson got 10 parking tickets over the course of her senior year at Michigan State University.

Instead of throwing them away, she used them to decorate her green graduation cap, forming them in the shape of a Spartan block “S”.

When she finished, she tweeted a picture of her work to the Michigan State University Police with the caption, “I’ll never forget you.”

“I thought it would be funny,” said Davidson, Twitter alias @kaakaila, in an interview with the Lansing State Journal. “I was going to throw them away, but I figured, why not do something fun with them?”

The tweet, posted Monday, seems to have resonated with other members of the MSU community. It had more than 3,000 likes and 800 retweets by midday Tuesday.

The MSU Police Department tweeted back, “Looks like we are going to miss you! Congrats on your graduation!”

Her response was a single word: "Savage."

"She sent us the tweet directly, and we saw there was humor in it, so we responded in kind," said Capt. Doug Monette of the MSU Police. "We wish her the best of luck."

Each parking ticket cost $25, meaning Davidson has paid $250 in fines this year. Davidson said she knowingly parked in lots or meters where she could get ticketed but hoped luck would be on her side.

Davidson said she was surprised when she saw the response to her Tweet.

That's one way to cap off a college career.

“I definitely peaked in college,” she joked. “My parents are proud.”

Davidson, of Ortonville, graduates on Saturday with a degree in comparative cultures and politics. Her parking tickets are all paid off.

Contact Alexander Alusheff at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.