This October PPIE hosted its third-annual T-shirt contest. Students from elementary to high school submitted designs to be the face of the PPIE Run and all other PPIE events.
“It’s really the creative face of our run, taking our internal PPIE logo and adding the fun element of the run to it,” said PPIE executive director Andrea Wilson.
The Contest
Originally, professional designers created the logos. However, the program began integrating student participants to help drum up publicity.
“Around 2023, we had been working with the same designer for many years, and we really wanted to switch up our t-shirts. We thought it would be a great way to get more students involved and excited about the run, and a great way to get some visibility in the community,” said Wilson.
As well as providing publicity for the event, the contest also invites student expression. Students have the freedom to create unique pieces of art and are provided with an outlet to share their work. It is a win for the community as well as the participating students.
“It brings community together and lets students express their creativity,” said Twenty-Three to Twenty-Four contest winner Hayden Moe (‘26).
The Submissions
This year, submissions for the contest are due Oct. 28. Artists started working as early as a month ahead of the deadline to sketch their designs.
“I was thinking about [my design] for a long time. I think I started early October, and it’s due end of October, but I didn’t really start working on it a lot until the last week before I finished it up,” said 24-25 contest winner Claire Schriber.
Every year, PPIE provides artists with clip art of their apple logo. After, students are free to alter the logo to their liking and include their own unique aspects.
“There’s certain things you need to have, like ‘Run for Education,’ and then you need the apple, but every year I noticed people used the apple. I wanted to change it, so I gave it a face and… made it running,” said Schriber.
This creativity is a key part of the judging process. As well as being a practical representation of PPIE, the t-shirts should also be creative and unique.
“Don’t be afraid to be more creative, because I think it’s fun to see different designs every year,” said Schriber.
