Safety Contest winners announced

Metra contest brings train safety into the home and classroom

The votes have been tallied and Metra 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 16^th 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. 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

1^st Grade — Dasha Kosharko, Life Christian School, St. Charles

2^nd Grade — Aadyansh Tripathi, Kildeer Countryside Elementary School, Kildeer

3^rd Grade — Callie Kim, Robert Crown Elementary School, Wauconda

4^th Grade — Kerim Usseinov, Reba O. Steck Elementary School, Aurora

5^th Grade — Abigail Sim, Woodland Intermediate School, Gurnee

6^th Grade — Minseo Kim, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove

7^th Grade — Mason Ramirez, Antioch Upper Grade School, Antioch

8^th Grade — Florence Lee, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove

9^th Grade — James Beomjin Kim, William Fremd High School, Palatine

10^th Grade — Chloe Takahashi, Hoffman Estates High School, Hoffman Estates

11^th Grade — Niyati Naveen, New Trier High School, Winnetka

12^th Grade — Wil Van Dyne, Cary-Grove High School, Cary

Second Place Poster

Kindergarten— Ju-An Choi, Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School, Arlington Heights

1^st Grade —Yuri Paguntalan. Center School, Orland Park

2^nd Grade — Kavin Peter, Maplebrook Elementary School, Naperville

3^rd Grade — Pranauv Mohna, Woodland Elementary School, Gages Lake

4^th Grade — Valeriia Halaida, North Elementary School, Des Plaines

5^th Grade — Shivansh Tripathi, Kildeer Countryside Elementary School, Kildeer

6^th Grade — Kate You, Frank C. Whitley School, Hoffman Estates

7^th Grade — Joshua Chong, Plum Grove Junior High School, Rolling Meadows

8^th Grade — Dianne Park, Woodlawn Middle School, Long Grove

9^th Grade — Habin Park, Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook

10^th Grade — Rayanne Attar, Lake Forest High School, Lake Forest

11^th Grade — David Aranda, Streamwood High School, Streamwood

12^th Grade — Kyle Baumgartner, Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook

Third Place Poster

Kindergarten — Joanna Antony Francis, Homeschooled, South Elgin

1^st Grade — Aksharasree Rajadurai, Tripp Elementary, Buffalo Grove

2^nd Grade — Sebastian De Guzman, Westchester Primary School, Westchester

3^rd Grade — Erin Love Lee, Willow Bend Elementary School, Rolling Meadows

4^th Grade — Cameron Schmalz, The Joseph Sears School, Kenilworth

5^th Grade — Hyowon Kee, Blackwell Elementary School Schaumburg

6^th Grade — Martina Welsch, Fremont Middle School, Mundelein

7^th Grade — Grace Kong, Highland Middle School, Libertyville

8^th Grade — Grace Ahn, Twin Groves Middle School, Buffalo Grove

9^th Grade — Annaliese Bristow, Wheaton Academy, West Chicago

10^th Grade — Javier Emilio Aranda Rincon, Streamwood High School, Streamwood

11^th Grade — Charlotte Castelan, Hoffman Estates High School, Hoffman Estates

12^th Grade — Julia Levenshteyn, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire

Honorable Mention Essay

K-4 Division

Aadyansh Tripathi, 2^nd Grade, Kildeer Countryside Elementary School, Kildeer

Lakshya Rayapaneni, 4^th Grade, Marion Jordan Elementary School, Palatine

5-8 Division

Sofia Faisal, 7^th Grade, Kenwood Academy, Chicago

Siddharth Naveen, 7^th Grade, Wilmette Junior High School, Wilmette

9-12 Division

Matthew Lester Busch, 10^th Grade, A.A. Stagg High School, Palos Hills

Adam Ahmed, 12^th Grade, CICS Northtown Academy, Chicago

Honorable Mention Poster

3^rd Grade

Antonio Aranguibel, Medinah Intermediate School, Medinah

4^th Grade

Emily Haas, Saint Clement School, Chicago

5^th Grade

Jaya Wong, Maddison Elementary School, Hinsdale

6^th Grade

Ellie Small, Hinsdale Middle School, Hinsdale

7^th Grade

Danielle Rehder, Madison Junior High School, Naperville

8^th Grade

Hudson Kim, Larsen Middle School, Elgin