Every morning, Alice Cooper rolls into the teacher lot and parks outside the second floor doors. This Alice, however, is not the famous singer with hit songs from the 70s, but none other than French teacher Madame Suzanne Stadnicki’s black and white Mini Cooper Countryman. 

The car’s coloring mirrors the artist Alice Cooper’s shock rock style. Alice follows the tradition among Mini owners to name their cars after celebrities named “Cooper,” just like Stadnicki’s three previous Minis.

“I had a silver one. That was Gary, because it’s like an old-timey Hollywood actor,” Stadnicki said. “Prior to that, I had a red one, which was Winnie Cooper, like from ‘The Wonder Years,’ because she was young and cute. My first one was white with black stripes, and that was Anderson Cooper.”

Owners of the iconic small car have agreed upon many “Mini rules” throughout the years, including the naming pattern but also friendly gestures towards other owners of the car model.

“When I first got one, I used to wave and it was really fun, but it’s kind of fallen away,” Stadnicki said.

Besides community traditions, the unique features of the car itself have also created fond memories for Stadnicki. 

“When my nieces and nephew were younger, they used to love to play with the lights,” she said. “You can change the color scheme on the inside, and it’ll cycle through the rainbow.”

The Mini Countryman’s model, larger than the standard Mini Cooper model, is known to still carry the classic features and agile driving that appeals to owners.

“I think it’s fun, both to look at and to drive,” Stadnicki said. “It’s like an adult go-cart.”

Years of driving the iconic car has not only been fun, but has also had an effect on Stadnicki’s identity.

“I’m a Mini person, and a lot of people tell me that I look like a Mini Cooper driver, which I take as a compliment,” Stadnicki said.