Portales High School has many traditions ushering students into their next phase of life: winding the maypole, prom, senior sunrise and sunset, and the newer tradition of leaving their handprints at the Portales airport.
On Friday, May 2, 2025, two buses carrying faculty and around 100 students arrived at the cold and windy airport bright and early, equipped with inkpads, Sharpies, and wet wipes. 
In 2023, the city of Portales and the Portales airport invited the student council to put their mark on the large concrete slab adjacent to the parking lot. The president of the student council, Rae Ruiz, and representative, Juliana, took the lead in this initiative, painting “Portales Ram Nation Seniors” in large red and black letters.
In 2024 and now 2025, the student council and faculty organized a field trip for seniors to add their handprints to the original painting along with their names and graduation years. The first handprints were created with paint, but this year, ink pads were used to reduce smudging. Faculty and student council members sprayed each print with sealant to preserve the students’ prints, a process in which the students actively participated, showing their ownership and pride in their school.
Despite the wind and cold temperatures, the students laughed as they left their marks on the concrete. Elizabeth Malone, student council advisor and English teacher, expressed how this is a bonding experience for the students and an opportunity for the faculty to be involved in the fun. She highlighted the students’ initiative in organizing the senior sunrise and sunset tradition themselves, showing their leadership and responsibility.
This is just one of many projects the Portales High School student council organizes. This year, they set up everything for the canned food drive, appeared at the Eat Smart to Play Hard Fun Day for fourth graders at Valencia, collected aluminum cans for Habitat for Humanity, hosted a blood drive, and more. These activities benefit the school community and the wider Portales community. The current student council officers are Mya Duran (president), David Smith (vice president), and Raelynn Brown (historian and community liaison).
