Metra today announced the winners of its 18th Annual Safety Contest, where students across Chicagoland put their creativity to work to educate everyone about the importance of safe behaviors around railroad tracks and crossings.
This year’s contest theme was “See Tracks? Stay Back.” Students were eligible to win up to $500 in prizes for their original artwork, which will be featured in Metra’s 2026 safety calendar and on Metra’s Saturday/Sunday/Holiday Day Passes. Students in grades K through 4 submitted hand-drawn posters, and students in grades 5 through 12 were allowed to enter either hand-drawn or digital artwork, which were judged in separate categories.
First-place winners will be invited to the Metra Board meeting on July 16 to be recognized for their achievements.
Metra held a People’s Choice vote on Instagram, with winners from each grade group competing in categories representing the six-county region served by Metra. The public selected their favorite posters from the top three posters from each of the 11 regions represented by a Metra Board member. The People’s Choice winner from each region (11 winners total) will also receive a $500 Amazon gift card and will have their work featured in Metra promotional materials.
“Metra has a long history of being a proponent of rail safety education through its Operation Lifesaver presentations, which provide vital rail safety information to schoolchildren and other groups across northeast Illinois every year,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Jim Derwinski. “This contest has been a successful way to engage and educate our children about the importance of safe behaviors around trains and tracks.”
This year, Cicero West Elementary School in Cicero was recognized as the top participating school, winning a $500 Amazon gift card for submitting the most entries.
1st Place Hand-Drawn Poster Winners ($500 Amazon gift card)
- Kenan Usseinov – Kindergarten, Steck Elementary School, Cicero
- Yavuz Bakal – 1st Grade, Welch Elementary School, Naperville
- Alexandra Tsigan – 2nd Grade, Mill Street Elementary School, Naperville
- Matthew Shevchuk – 3rd Grade, Highlands Elementary, Naperville
- Kerem Bakal – 4th Grade, Welch Elementary, Naperville
- Milana Pranko – 5th Grade, Lincoln Elementary School, Wheaton
- Kaylee Kim – 6th Grade, Daniel Wright Jr High School, Lincolnshire
- Leah Wong – 7th Grade, Hinsdale Middle School, Hinsdale
- Brigid Park – 8th Grade, Kennedy Jr. High School, Naperville
- Conner Haoran Jia – 9th Grade, Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale
- Mackenzi Woods – 10th Grade, Chicago High School for the Arts, Chicago
- Annaliese Bristow – 11th Grade, Wheaton Academy, West Chicago
2nd Place Hand-Drawn Poster Winners ($250 Amazon gift card)
- Magglio Carrillo – Kindergarten, St. Gerald School, Chicago Ridge
- Juno Zhao – 1st Grade, The Lane Elementary School, Hinsdale
- Rajat Thakur – 2nd Grade, Brookdale Elementary School, Naperville
- Emma Van Gorden – 3rd Grade, Oak Elementary School, Hinsdale
- Sienna Chapman – 4th Grade, North Elementary School, Des Plaines
- Giselle Garcia Guerra – 5th Grade, North Elementary School, Des Plaines
- Grace Kim – 6th Grade, Hawthorn Middle School North, Vernon Hills
- Hyowon Kee – 7th Grade, Margaret Mead Junior High, Elk Grove Village
- Isaac Kang – 8th Grade, Daniel Wright Jr. High School, Lincolnshire
- Michael Chen – 9th Grade, Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale
- Dianne Park – 10th Grade, Adlai E Stevenson High School, Kildeer
- Nathaly Aviles – 11th Grade, Proviso Mathematics and Science, Berkeley
3rd Place Hand-Drawn Poster Winners ($100 Amazon gift card)
- Logan Ho – Kindergarten, Madison Elementary School, Hinsdale
- Alonso Ramirez Ortega – 1st Grade, Richland Elementary School, Crest Hill
- Marina Popova – 2nd Grade, Springbrook Elementary, Naperville
- Nathan Macrie – 3rd Grade, Madison Elementary School, Hinsdale
- Grace Fu – 4th Grade, Madison Elementary School, Hinsdale
- Evelynn Kang – 5th Grade, Half Day Elementary School, Lincolnshire
- Victoria Tsigan – 6th Grade, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove
- Yuna Bae – 7th Grade, Daniel Wright Jr High School, Lincolnshire
- Victoria Fang – 8th Grade, Attea Middle School, Glenview
- Minseo Kim – 9th Grade, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
- Hajaen Lim – 10th Grade, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
- Natalie Herrera – 11th Grade, Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy, Roselle
1st Place Digital Poster Winners ($500 Amazon gift card)
- Samantha J. Polasek – 5th Grade, Prairieview Elementary School, Downers Grove
- Chloe Min – 6th Grade, Daniel Wright Jr High School, Lincolnshire
- Vethika Venkatesh – 7th Grade, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove
- Walter Gorges – 8th Grade, Kenwood Academy High School, Chicago
- Danielle Rehder – 9th Grade, Naperville Central High School, Naperville
- Kate Levenshteyn – 10th Grade, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
- James Kunnassery – 11th Grade, Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook
- Ashe Villabroza – 12th Grade, Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook
2nd Place Digital Poster Winners (prize a $250 Amazon gift card)
- Marko Petrevski – 6th Grade, William F Murphy Elementary, Woodridge
- Andrew Dettloff – 7th Grade, Monroe Middle School, Winfield
- Amiracle Williams – 9th Grade, Connexus Academy, Gary
- Grace Ahn –10th Grade, Adlai. E Stevenson High School, Buffalo Grove
- Habin Park – 11th Grade, Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook
- Alejandro Salas – 12th Grade, Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook
3rd Place Digital Poster Winners ($100 Amazon gift card)
- A'Layiah Sullivan – 6th Grade, Powell Academy, Chicago
- Ashley Jing Wen Khor – 7th Grade, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove
- Nicole Minorczyk – 9th Grade, Lake Park High School, Roselle
- David Alejandro Bello Gonzalez – 10th Grade, Lake Park High School East Campus, Roselle
- Gary R Powers – 11th Grade, Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook
- Brooke Lebeter – 12th Grade, Lake Park High School, Roselle
People’s Choice Winners ($500 Amazon gift card)
- City of Chicago – Emily Haas – 6th Grade, St. Clement, Chicago
- Cook County – Brandon Vela Roblero, 4th Grade, Cicero East Elementary School, Cicero
- Northwest Cook County – Dorothy Wu, 8th Grade, Barrington Middle School, Prairie Campus, Barrington
- Southwest Cook County – Deauria Garrett, 4th Grade, Hoover Elementary School District 157, Calumet
- DuPage County – Kerim Usseinov, 6th Grade, Fischer Middle School, Aurora
- Kane County – Samantha Lynn Querry, 9th Grade, South Elgin High School, South Elgin
- Lake County – Charis Sehmee Park, 8th Grade, Hawthorn Middle School North, Vernon Hills
- Will County – David Ruiz, 12th Grade, Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook
- McHenry County – Mirabella McPeake, 6th Grade, St. Thomas School, Crystal Lake
