Winners of Metra’s 2016 Safety Poster and Essay Contest were honored Wednesday at the June meeting of the Metra Board of Directors.
Sixteen first-place winners from across Metra’s six-county service area were introduced and presented with plaques and iPads in recognition of their efforts to promote train safety.
“Distractions and not being aware of our surroundings can have serious consequences, especially near railroad tracks,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “These talented students used their creativity to help us reinforce this safety message not just with their peers, but with everyone in the region who interacts with the railroad, either as a customer or a motorist.”
The contest is designed to promote and reinforce railroad safety messages and keep our region’s children safe around trains. In its 10th year, more than 3,200 students from across the region participated, creating artwork and writing essays around the theme “Make Safety Your Focus: Look Listen Live.”
Each year, Metra’s Safety Contest invites students in grades K-12 to submit poster designs and essays highlighting the importance of railroad safety. Tasked with selecting the winners was a panel of 26 judges, including government officials, first responders, representatives from safety and education advocacy groups, business and community leaders, media and railroad professionals.
First-, second-, and third-place winners were chosen from each grade level for the Metra Safety Poster Contest. One winner from each grade group – elementary school, middle school and high school – was chosen for the Safety Essay Contest. First-place poster and essay contest winners received an iPad, while second- and third-place poster contest winners received $250 and $100 gift cards, respectively.
The People’s Choice Award winner is Grace Fox, a junior at Oak Park River Forest High School. Nearly 400 people voted online and selected her artwork as the favorite. She received an additional $250 prize.
Metra also recognized the school with the most entries submitted in the poster contest. This year’s winner is Wauconda’s Robert Crown Elementary with more than 750 entries. In honor of this achievement, the school has received a computer for use in the classroom.
The first-place poster designs will be featured in Metra’s 2017 safety calendar, on weekend tickets and on the Metra website. Winning safety essays will also be featured in the safety calendar, the Metra website and Facebook page. The second- and third-place posters will also be featured on the contest’s Facebook page.
Metra’s Safety Contest would not be possible without the support of its sponsors, whose generous contributions have helped Metra defray the costs of the contest prizes as well as the production of the safety posters. This year’s contest sponsor is the Hubbard Radio Group, owners of Chicago radio stations 97.1 FM The Drive, 100.3 WSHE and 101.9 The Mix.
The following were chosen as winners of the 2015-2016 Safety Contest:
Top Participating School
Robert Crown Elementary, Wauconda
First Place Essay
K-4 Division — Alina Qian, Lake Zurich, 3rd Grade, Prairie Elementary School
5-8 Division — Ethan Dawes, Naperville, 5th Grade, Patterson Elementary
9-12 Division — Ethan Chen, Green Oaks, 9th Grade, Libertyville High School
First Place Poster
Kindergarten — Daniel Benjamin Ho, Algonquin, Westfield Community School
1st Grade — Raymond Park, Naperville, Ranchview Elementary School
2nd Grade — Evan Boyle, St. Charles, Lincoln Elementary School
3rd Grade — Tristan Mehra, Naperville, White Eagle Elementary School
4th Grade — Olivia C. Kim, Glenview, Glenview School of Arts
5th Grade — Samantha Chen, Green Oaks, Copeland Manor School
6th Grade — Madelyn Lee, Buffalo Grove, Glenview School of Arts
7th Grade — Charles Choi, Arlington Heights, Thomas Middle School
8th Grade — Joy Zhou, Glenview, Glenview School of Arts
9th Grade — Kate Hoekstra, LaGrange, Lyons Township High School
10th Grade — Janet Wong, Northbrook, Glenview School of Arts
11th Grade — Grace Fox, Oak Park, Oak Park River Forest High School
12th Grade — Maria Guadalupe Garcia, Des Plaines, Maine West High School
Second Place Poster
Kindergarten — Levi Boyle, St. Charles, Lincoln Elementary School
1st Grade — Alex Bounds, Naperville, May Watts Elementary School
2nd Grade — Habin Park, Northbrook, Glenview School of Arts
3rd Grade — Wyatt Miller, Naperville, White Eagle Elementary School
4th Grade — Gwyn Lockwood, Wheaton, Lowell Elementary School
5th Grade — Yebin Park, Northbrook, Glenview School of Arts
6th Grade — Cynthia Zhang, Libertyville, Highland Middle School
7th Grade — Yegor Baranovski, Naperville, Thayer J. Hill Middle School
8th Grade — Leon Kosciak, Long Grove, Glenview School of Arts
9th Grade — Janet Pak, Mount Prospect, Prospect High School
10th Grade — Seowon Lee, Buffalo Grove, Adlai E. Stevenson High School
11th Grade — Mark Pappas, Tinley Park, Victor J. Andrew High School
12th Grade — Spencer Jeka, North Barrington, Barrington High School
Third Place Poster
Kindergarten — Sofia Bounds, Naperville, May Watts Elementary School
1st Grade — Julian Mehra, Naperville, White Eagle Elementary School
2nd Grade — Aditi Prabhu, Naperville, White Eagle Elementary School
3rd Grade — Katrina Boroski, Glenview, Glenview School of Arts
4th Grade — Ksenia Baatz, Naperville, Avery Coonley School
5th Grade — Madeline Oh, Wilmette, Glenview School of Arts
6th Grade — Carlos Martinez, Elgin, Hilltop Elementary School
7th Grade — Jessica Zapanta, Lindenhurst, Millburn School
8th Grade — Abby Huang, Naperville, Jefferson Junior High School
9th Grade — Ethan Chen, Green Oaks, Libertyville High School
10th Grade — Elaine Tran, Lincolnwood, Niles West High School
11th Grade — Sarah Wagner, Glenview, Glenview School of Arts
12th Grade — Ruth Elizabeth, Evans Chicago, Whitney Young Magnet High School
Honorable Mention Essay
K-4 Division — Manya Davis, Naperville, 4th Grade, John C. Dunham STEM Partnership
K-4 Division — Aysha Ahmed, Hanover Park, 4th Grade, Al-Huda Academy
5-8 Division — Adhvaith Mhahesh, Aurora, 5th Grade, Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School
5-8 Division — Justin Banks, Oak Park, 8th Grade, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
5-8 Division — Logan Blancett, Round Lake, 6th Grade, Big Hollow Middle School
9-12 Division — Jessica Currier, Crete, 12th Grade, Illinois Lutheran High School
9-12 Division — Sruthi Gurudev, Schaumburg., 12th Grade, James B. Conant High School
Honorable Mention Poster
Kindergarten
Charlie Rice, Naperville, White Eagle Elementary School
Frank Kosciak, Long Grove, Glenview School of Arts
1st Grade
Benjamin Kuzmik, Naperville, Kingsley Elementary School
Nicholas Konchan, Glenview, Glenview School of Arts
2nd Grade
David Alexander Ho, Algonquin, Westfield Community School
Fiona Chen, Glenview, Glenview School of Arts
3rd Grade
Jenica Perez, Wauconda, Robert Crown Elementary School
Julia Stepniak, Elgin, Hilltop Elementary School
Adam Ciula, Glendale Heights, Blackhawk Elementary School
4th Grade
Nikita Jurcenko, Geneva, Mill Creek Elementary
Jenica Jeevan, Aurora, May Watts Elementary
Alina Chie, Northbrook, Henry Winkleman Elementary School
5th Grade
Bella DeMaio, Wauconda, Robert Crown Elementary School
Alisa Beyzin, Wauconda, Robert Crown Elementary School
Michael Choi, Arlington Heights, Patton Elementary School
6th Grade
Christina Gu, Naperville, Kennedy Jr. High School
Audrey Schneider, Mount Prospect, Lincoln Middle School
7th Grade
Kaitlin Kilgore, Winfield, Winfield Central School
Paige Vang, Green Oaks, Oak Grove School
8th Grade
Helenna Gu, Naperville, Kennedy Jr. High School
Zimra Chickering, Chicago, George B Armstrong International School
9th Grade
Daphne Johnson, West Chicago, Wheaton Academy
Stephanie Wolfson, Glenview, Glenview School of Arts
10th Grade
Xinru Li, Hinsdale, Hinsdale Central High School
Michael Zima, Glen Ellyn, Glenbard South High School
Chloe Moon, Northbrook, Glenbrook North High School
Jessica Baez, Chicago, Eric Solorio Academy High School
11th Grade
Alison McKenney, Downers Grove, Downers Grove High School
Julie Ucha, Tinley Park, Victor J. Andrew High School
Cody Butler, Orland Hills, Victor J. Andrew High School
12th Grade
Kevin Rodriguez, Chicago, Eric Solorio Academy High School
