The votes have been tallied and Metra today announced the news that school-age children across the region have been waiting for: the names of the winners of its 2022-2023 Safety Poster and Essay Contest.
Metra invited students in grades K-12 throughout its six-county service area to submit poster designs and essays highlighting the importance of railroad safety. This year, Metra received 485 entries. Students created artwork and wrote essays around the theme “Stay Safe, Stay off Train Tracks.”
The contest, which is in its 16th year, enables students to use their creativity to take ownership of the safety message by creating posters and essays that are used by Metra in its safety campaigns.
“It’s wonderful to see students participate in this contest and learn the importance of staying safe near the railroad,” said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “My Metra is all about taking personal responsibility for our riders and each other, and the winners of this contest have done a great job of demonstrating it through their artwork and essays.”
First-, second- and third-place winners were chosen from each grade level in elementary school, middle school and high school. First-place poster and essay contest winners receive a $500 gift card, while second- and third-place poster contest winners receive $250 and $100 gift cards, respectively. Those receiving honorable mentions will receive a certificate noting their achievement.
A People’s Choice Award winner will also be selected via voting on Metra’s website metra.com. Members of the general public can select their favorite poster from this year’s first-place winners. Voting for People’s Choice will be available online at noon CDT Tuesday, June 13 through midnight June 30. Click here to view the winners and make your selection. The artist who garners the most votes will receive an additional $250 prize. The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be announced at the July 19 meeting of the Metra Board of Directors.
Metra also recognizes the school with the most entries submitted in the poster contest. This year’s winner is Cicero West Elementary School in Cicero with 38 entries. In honor of this achievement, the school will receive notebook computers for use in the classroom.
The following is a complete list of the winners of the 2022-2023 Safety Poster and Essay Contest:
Top Participating School
Cicero West Elementary School, Cicero
First Place Essay
K-4 Division – Zachary Yin, Willard Elementary School, River Forest
5-8 Division – Aanand Vishvambhar, Plum Grove Junior High School, Rolling Meadows
9-12 Division – Abigail Cummings, West Aurora High School, Aurora
First Place Poster
Kindergarten — Rajat Thakur, Brookdale Elementary School, Naperville
1st Grade — Dasha Kosharko, Life Christian School, St. Charles
2nd Grade — Aadyansh Tripathi, Kildeer Countryside Elementary School, Kildeer
3rd Grade — Callie Kim, Robert Crown Elementary School, Wauconda
4th Grade — Kerim Usseinov, Reba O. Steck Elementary School, Aurora
5th Grade — Abigail Sim, Woodland Intermediate School, Gurnee
6th Grade — Minseo Kim, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove
7th Grade — Mason Ramirez, Antioch Upper Grade School, Antioch
8th Grade — Florence Lee, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove
9th Grade — James Beomjin Kim, William Fremd High School, Palatine
10th Grade — Chloe Takahashi, Hoffman Estates High School, Hoffman Estates
11th Grade — Niyati Naveen, New Trier High School, Winnetka
12th Grade — Wil Van Dyne, Cary-Grove High School, Cary
Second Place Poster
Kindergarten — Ju-An Choi, Olive Mary Stitt Elementary School, Arlington Heights
1st Grade —Yuri Paguntalan. Center School, Orland Park
2nd Grade — Kavin Peter, Maplebrook Elementary School, Naperville
3rd Grade — Pranauv Mohna, Woodland Elementary School, Gages Lake
4th Grade — Valeriia Halaida, North Elementary School, Des Plaines
5th Grade — Shivansh Tripathi, Kildeer Countryside Elementary School, Kildeer
6th Grade — Kate You, Frank C. Whitley School, Hoffman Estates
7th Grade — Joshua Chong, Plum Grove Junior High School, Rolling Meadows
8th Grade — Dianne Park, Woodlawn Middle School, Long Grove
9th Grade — Habin Park, Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook
10th Grade — Rayanne Attar, Lake Forest High School, Lake Forest
11th Grade — David Aranda, Streamwood High School, Streamwood
12th Grade — Kyle Baumgartner, Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook
Third Place Poster
Kindergarten — Joanna Antony Francis, Homeschooled, South Elgin
1st Grade — Aksharasree Rajadurai, Tripp Elementary, Buffalo Grove
2nd Grade — Sebastian De Guzman, Westchester Primary School, Westchester
3rd Grade — Erin Love Lee, Willow Bend Elementary School, Rolling Meadows
4th Grade — Cameron Schmalz, The Joseph Sears School, Kenilworth
5th Grade — Hyowon Kee, Blackwell Elementary School Schaumburg
6th Grade — Martina Welsch, Fremont Middle School, Mundelein
7th Grade — Grace Kong, Highland Middle School, Libertyville
8th Grade — Grace Ahn, Twin Groves Middle School, Buffalo Grove
9th Grade — Annaliese Bristow, Wheaton Academy, West Chicago
10th Grade — Javier Emilio Aranda Rincon, Streamwood High School, Streamwood
11th Grade — Charlotte Castelan, Hoffman Estates High School, Hoffman Estates
12th Grade — Julia Levenshteyn, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
Honorable Mention Essay
K-4 Division
Aadyansh Tripathi, 2nd Grade, Kildeer Countryside Elementary School, Kildeer
Lakshya Rayapaneni, 4th Grade, Marion Jordan Elementary School, Palatine
5-8 Division
Sofia Faisal, 7th Grade, Kenwood Academy, Chicago
Siddharth Naveen, 7th Grade, Wilmette Junior High School, Wilmette
9-12 Division
Matthew Lester Busch, 10th Grade, A.A. Stagg High School, Palos Hills
Adam Ahmed, 12th Grade, CICS Northtown Academy, Chicago
Honorable Mention Poster
3rd Grade
Antonio Aranguibel, Medinah Intermediate School, Medinah
4th Grade
Emily Haas, Saint Clement School, Chicago
5th Grade
Jaya Wong, Maddison Elementary School, Hinsdale
6th Grade
Ellie Small, Hinsdale Middle School, Hinsdale
7th Grade
Danielle Rehder, Madison Junior High School, Naperville
8th Grade
Hudson Kim, Larsen Middle School, Elgin