Rye YMCA

Rye Y Distracted Walking and Driving Poster Contest

Community Leaders Selected Winners January 18
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January 25, 2024

Community leaders gathered at the Y Studios on Monday, January 8 to select the winners of Heads Up! A Distracted Driving and Walking Poster Contest. The contest, which began 13 years ago as part of the Rye Y’s Safe Routes to School initiative, engages Rye High School students in creating posters that illustrate the dangers of distracted walking and driving and the importance of cycling safety.

Fifty-six students from Nichole Chiffriller’s three Digital Media classes participated. After all of the posters were completed, the students narrowed the field to 15 semi-finalists. The Rye Y then convened a panel of community leaders who selected the three winners. The judges were:

  • Dr. Eric Byrne – Superintendent, Rye City School District
  • Josh Cohn – Mayor, City of Rye
  • Brian Dempsey – Chair, City of Rye Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Committee
  • Michael Kopy – Commissioner of Public Safety, City of Rye
  • Adam Levi – Executive Director, The Rye Arts Center
  • Christian Miller – Rye City Planner
  • Sabrina Murphy – CEO, Rye YMCA
  • Chris Shoemaker - Director, Rye Free Reading Room 
  • Suzanne Kelly Short – Principal, Rye High School

For the fifth year, the poster contest was sponsored by Joe Lamberti of Rye Brook Service Center.

The contest winners are:

First Place: Maggie Schmidt 
Second Place: Alienna Malkani 
Third Place: Liam Storz

More than an art project, Heads Up! also seeks to raise awareness. In her remarks to the judges, Chiffriller explained that the classes begin by watching the documentary From One Second to the Next, which chronicles the lives of four families impacted by distracted driving crashes. Many of the students wove statistics found through their own research into their poster design.

All of the posters are displayed at the Rye Free Reading Room outside of the lower level Teen Center and in an online exhibit. An opening reception and awards ceremony was held in the Teen Center on Wednesday, January 17. 

Click here to view all the posters. View winner posters below.