Students enrolled in Burnsville High School’s Interactive Design, a business elective class taught by Dr. Tyler Krebs, have produced interior panels for display in local and express Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) buses. The panels focus on themes involving school spirit, transit and in cooperation with the City of Burnsville, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.
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| Pictured, from left, are School Spirit winner Osbaldo Vega; Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz; Transit winner Abby Mizusaki; Beyond the Yellow Ribbon winner Holly Kildahl and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Foundation President Mike Huddleston. |
The students’ “school spirit” and “transit” artwork was reviewed by the MVTA and winning entries were selected in the two categories. The “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” winning entries were selected by Mike Huddleston and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Foundation. Winners were:
- School Spirit – Junior Osbaldo Vega of Burnsville (son of Nelson and Estella Vega)
- Transit – Senior Abby Mizusaki of Burnsville (daughter of Kathryn & Ryan Mizusaki)
- Beyond the Yellow Ribbon – Senior Holly Kildahl of Burnsville (daughter of Mary & Joel Kildahl).
The students received a certificate of award and a $25 gift certificate to Best Buy for their efforts.
A number of students received honorable mentions for their efforts and all panels are currently displayed on MVTA buses. As part of their class, students were to complete a project using software such as Photoshop, along with a variety of graphics and images. The MVTA had the panels printed and dry-mounted by Cornerstone Copy Center, for display on the interior of MVTA buses. Students were also given a copy of their final product.
“Today’s high school students are very creative and sophisticated in using graphic tools and techniques to complete their projects,” said program coordinator Robin Selvig, MVTA Customer Service Manager. “We hope it is fun for the students to receive life-size copies of their bus panels and we invite them to ride the buses to see their work.”
The City of Burnsville program was added to enhance the student’s experience of creating bus panels for insertion on MVTA buses and also to help promote Burnsville as a “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” City. The goal of “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” is to create a statewide network of volunteers, agencies, organizations and services that can provide military families with assistance and support at a moment’s notice. Individual Yellow Ribbon cities are tasked with developing and maintaining that network within their communities.
Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Foundation President Mike Huddleston participated in the presentation of the panels to the students. “It is exciting to see what the students create and we appreciate the opportunity to partner with Burnsville High School,” said Mayor Kautz. Huddleston added, “Thank you for allowing us to participate in this activity and to help spread the good word about our Foundation.”
MVTA is the public transportation provider for the businesses and residents of Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Prior Lake, Rosemount, Savage and Shakopee.
