SunLine Transit Agency buses received a pop of color, thanks to the imagination of four Coachella Valley area students.
Artwork on the theme, “Your Sustainable Ride to the Future,” now wraps several SunLine buses as part of the company’s eighth annual Student Art Contest, co-sponsored by Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP).
This is the sixth year the Rancho Cucamonga-based not-for-profit health plan sponsored the contest, which is “all about inspiring art to reflect clean air and beautiful scenery, which aligns well with healing and inspiring the human spirit,” explained Marci Coffey, director of strategic provider partnerships.
“Clean air is absolutely aligned with vibrant health. We need clean air for our kiddos to be able to run, play and engage in outdoor activities, so children can have healthy lives,” she said.
Coffey, along with representatives from SunLine and IEHP’s Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Michelle Rai, attended the unveiling on Nov. 21, where they also met and congratulated the student artists.
Winning artwork will be displayed on buses traveling along regular SunLine routes for a year. In addition, the work of five art contest finalists will be installed at bus stops near their respective schools.
The 2023 1st Place Winners and Finalists are:
1st Place Winners
Elementary School Category
Isabella Machado Gonzalez
Fifth grade, Benjamin Franklin Elementary
Antonio Coloma II
Third grade, Benjamin Franklin Elementary
Middle School Category
Gabrielle Lou Mercedeine Coloma
Sixth grade, La Quinta Middle School
High School Category
Chanhwee Park
Ninth grade, Palm Desert High School
Finalists
Elementary School Category
Maya Noelle U. Perez
Third grade, George Washington Charter School
Dya Valentina Flores Arambula
Fifth grade, Mountain Vista Elementary
Middle School Category
Farah Reagan
Seventh grade, La Quinta Middle School
High School Category
Lauren Cruz De Armas
10th grade, La Quinta High School
Lily Jones
10th grade, Palm Valley School
“Nurturing young artists can provide long-term benefits for our communities,” said Rai. “These students will be better equipped to communicate their ideas visually and creatively in future workplaces.”
SunLine Marketing and Events Manager Carmen Cubero agreed.
“This is one of SunLine’s most treasured projects, one of my personal favorites. It is amazing seeing the talent that local students have in our Coachella Valley communities,” she said. “At SunLine, we are always looking for opportunities to engage students and educate them about the new technologies that drive the improvement of alternative fuels and how important clean air is for our community and beyond that.”
In addition to IEHP, SunLine’s annual contest was sponsored in part by the cities of LaQuinta and Palm Desert and First Bank. Students in elementary, middle and high school are eligible to submit artwork to the contest each year. To learn more, go to sunline.org/studentart.
