Irvington Student Wins Grand Prize At Walk Safe Irvington PSA Contest

IRVINGTON, N.Y. – Irvington Middle School student Aden Malone has been named the grand-prize winner of the Walk Safe Irvington PSA Video Festival, according to a statement from the Irvington Union Free School District.The award was presented in recognition of his creativity, originality and clarity of message, according to the district, which noted that it served as a public service announcement on pedestrian safety.“Aden’s message was spot on,” said Erik Oley, a member of the village’s Traffic Calming Irvington committee, which aims to make Irvington’s streets safer. “No matter where our thoughts are when we are walking on the sidewalk, we need to fully concentrate on our surroundings when crossing any roadways.”The Walk Safe Irvington initiative targets the safety of pedestrians, specifically the safety of students, according to the district’s statement.In the district's statement, Oley said the PSA contest was open to Irvington students in grades 6-12 and was inspired by the projects of Irvington Middle School seventh graders who had previously created PSAs in their English classes.“We thought that having students produce videos for other students would be the most effective way to communicate our message,” Oley said. “Children are constantly hearing from adults about the importance of pedestrian safety. We think it’s exponentially more effective to hear the message from a peer. And even more so from a peer who can dance and has cool taste in music.”Malone, who was awarded the grand prize during the annual Celebrate Irvington event on June 19, was the judges’ clear favorite, according to the school district.Oley thanked Superintendent of Schools Kristopher Harrison and Irvington High School and Middle School principals David Cohen and David Sottile, respectively, for their support of the project.“We would also like to thank English Department Chair Jennifer Delisi for promoting the contest in the district’s ELA classes,” Oley added. “And finally a big thanks to Thomas Sandler for underwriting the Irvington Education Foundation grant that introduced the seventh graders to PSA production, for promoting our contest in his class and for being a judge on our panel.”Malone’s PSA is available for viewing on the Irvington school district’s website.