IC Bus Names Next Stop: Imagination Contest Winners

Hundreds of entries were submitted from across the country as part of the first-ever Next Stop: Imagination Contest and two winners were recognized in grades K-5 and 6-8. Both winners titled their projects "The Fun Bus." In the K-5 category, Harlie Fuegen, who attends Kimball Elementary School in Gann Valley, SD, won for her bus of the future that features air conditioning and "all the fun things a kid could want, including games, snacks, music and comfy seats."

Caleb Smith of Haysville Middle School in Haysville, KS, won in the 6-8 age range for his futuristic bus that incorporates newly designed windows that allow riders to take in the views without obstruction, as well as hi-tech design that supports today's mobile gadgets. Each winner received a $1,000 college scholarship and earned $500 toward a field trip for their class. View the winning submissions online.

"If you take a look at the artwork each of these kids created, you see that not only have they designed a dream bus, many have incorporated their dream bus into an ideal future environment and society," says Trish Reed, Vice President and General Manager, IC Bus. "These are more than aspirational, they are inspirational. These are true pieces of art."

IC Bus hosted the Imagination Contest for students K-8 to dream up the bus of the future. The nationwide contest invited students to create the school bus of the future in a drawing, poem, video, picture, sculpture or model. The Next Stop is a new IC Bus initiative aimed at imagining the needs of the bus industry's future.

Through a collaborative approach, IC Bus will lead the way in bringing together the brightest minds of the industry to map out the road ahead.