In Katherine Nelson's art class, Coon Rapids Middle School seventh grader Avrie Siedschlag likes to draw. She has a competitive edge which has lead her to enter lots of poster contests.
"I started doing the posters in like elementary school," Siedschlag said.
Back in January as a sixth grader, Avrie drew a poster for the District 11 School Bus Safety Week, the theme: Safely Rolling to My Destination.
"I just thought of cooking and like rolling pins because like they roll on that made me kind of feel like you could incorporate cooking in it because I like cooking,” Avrie said.
Her poster won at the state competition. And just a few weeks ago she was named the overall winner of the 2022-23 National School Bus Safety Poster Contest.
"She works hard on every single thing she does,” Siedschlag said. “And I'm just so proud of her, so excited that she was able to get this award."
Avrie and her artwork were recognized at Monday's school board meeting, where Anoka-Hennepin Transportation Safety Coordinator Jeff Mueller emphasised the importance of her work.
"Many thousands of copies of that very poster is goning to go out to schools throughout the nation and every time a student looks at that poster, they're going to be thinking about school bus safety."
The poster will help promote National School Bus Safety Week which is October 16-20. Avrie's poster will be seen by millions of students who ride the bus to school.