HERMISTON, Ore. -- Hermiston High School senior Stefano Peiris is gaining social media fame for having his senior pictures taken at his parents' 7-Eleven franchise in Hermiston, Ore., and posting them online, reported The Hermiston Herald.
Peiris invited the photographer to shoot the stills at his parents’ 7-Eleven franchise—in the parking lot, behind the counter, at the Slurpee machine.
The shoot went viral, and Peiris said he was shocked. Within a few days of his October 11 tweet (@Stefano_Peiris), “So I took my senior pictures at 7-Eleven,” his Twitter followers jumped from about 200 to more than 900. More than 27,000 people have retweeted the post, and more than 46,000 clicked “favorite” as of Tuesday evening, said the report.
Although he didn’t expect it to reach so many people, Peiris admitted he was after a laugh.
“I’ve actually been thinking about this for a few years for how to make my senior pictures funny,” he told the newspaper.
He pitched the idea to his photographer, Tammy James, owner of 60 Minute Photo, while they were out taking some other shots at Cold Springs Reservoir, the report said. She was on board.
His mother, Anoma, said her friends were telling her about the online popularity of the photos, but she had never used Twitter.
“I quickly asked my son to get me a Twitter account,” she told the paper. “I think it’s funny how people go crazy on something like this. It is fun for a little town.”
His father, Michael, said everyone was surprised at the reaction generated by the photos. Many other students have stopped by the store talking about them, he said.
“We never expected that,” he told the Herald. “I don’t think anybody expected it to go that big. All the kids know about it. They’re all talking about how famous he is.”
And Peiris' charm did not escape the notice of 7-Eleven corporate.
"It was endearing to see how proud Stefano is of his parents’ 7-Eleven store and fun to hear how social media reacted," Margaret Chabris, spokesperson for 7-Eleven Inc., told CSP Daily News. "Plus, he has a terrific, winning smile."
Dallas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses nearly 10,600 7-Eleven convenience stores in North America. Globally, there are more than 57,200 7-Eleven c-stores in 16 countries.
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