The winner of Chicago's 2002 vehicle sticker design compitition is a
sophomore at a high school that enrolls students with emotional problems.
He says, "we're used to working around kids with special disabilities; it
has opened our eyes to more things.''

Kelly


Chicago Sun-Times

Winning vehicle sticker celebrates city's unity

December 9, 2001

BY SABRINA WALTERS STAFF REPORTER

Melvin Kelley felt confident when he sat down to create a drawing that
would depict Chicago as a town that embraces diversity, specifically
including people
with disabilities.

"I thought about it and brainstormed for about a day before I put the
idea on paper,'' said Melvin, 16, a sophomore at Lawrence Hall Youth
Services School
and the winner of this year's city vehicle sticker art contest.

"I'm so happy, so blessed," he said.

Melvin, who wants to be a cartoon animator, will receive a $1,000 U.S.
savings bond.

In last Sunday's paper, the Sun-Times displayed the 10 finalist designs
for next year's city sticker--including Melvin's entry--and invited
readers to vote
for their favorite. The design theme for the contest was to be
"Accessible Chicago: Celebrating the Abilities of People with
Disabilities."

About 5,000 readers responded, voting by phone and on the Internet, and
Melvin's work won.

Melvin's drawing shows a black hand and a white hand clasped together,
stretching across a Chicago skyline with symbols of disabilities and an
American
flag in the background. It will be displayed on more than 1 million
vehicle windshields in Chicago next year.

The second-place winner, who will receive a $500 saving bond, is Syeda
Shammun Kader, a junior at Mather High School. Nicolette Cieslak, a
senior at Resurrection
High, took third place, winning a $250 savings bond.

"I was thinking that the black and white hands would show a multicultural
city that has unity, people coming together as one, helping those less
fortunate,
the disabled,'' said Melvin, who attends a school that enrolls children
with emotional problems.

Melvin said he has a special understanding of children who need extra
help at school, and perhaps that gave him an edge over the other 409
Chicago high
school contestants. "We're used to working around kids with special
disabilities; it has opened our eyes to more things,'' he said.

Another Lawrence Hall student, Darius Urbikas, also was one of the 10
finalists.

Melvin's drawing will appear on the 2002 Chicago City vehicle sticker
that goes on sale June 1. The contest was co-sponsored by the Mayor's
Office for People
with Disabilities and the Sun-Times.


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