An airplane design by Aaron Nee, a 16-year-old junior at Kaiser High School, will be painted onto an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet later this year.
Nee was the winner of the airline’s Paint-the-Plane contest.
Nee was surprised with the award during class Thursday. Besides having his drawing displayed on the jet, Nee also will receive a trip for four to any of the carrier’s destinations and a $5,000 scholarship.
His winning design displays a voyaging canoe depicting how Polynesians first arrived in the Hawaiian Islands, a bright yellow hibiscus representing the state flower, a map of the Hawaiian Islands chain and the phrase "Spirit of the Islands."
Nee, who has an interest in graphic design and athletics, said he plans to invest his $5,000 for college and will take his family to visit relatives in New York, where he hopes to see snow for the first time.
Nee’s design was selected from more than 2,700 submissions sent in by students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The contest was sponsored by Alaska Airlines, the state Department of Education and the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.
The public participated in an online vote of three finalists. More than 7,000 votes were cast, with Nee’s submission receiving 4,013 votes. Izabela Hamilton, a 12th-grader at Seabury Hall on Maui, placed second for her design featuring a male and female hula dancer against a backdrop of ocean waves and wind-swept mountain cliffs. Sophia Cleek, a sixth-grader at Kapolei Middle School, placed third for her design depicting a voyaging canoe sailing around the islands. Hamilton and Cleek will each receive a trip for four to any Alaska Airlines destination and a $1,000 scholarship.
Honorable-mention winners will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship each. They were Cody Mar, Ewa Beach, kindergarten, Holomua Elementary School; Madalyn Mattson, Waikoloa, Grade 1, Waikoloa Elementary School; Kaycee Hansberry, Honolulu, Grade 2, Salt Lake Elementary School; Kayla Kuahuia, Waipahu, Grade 3, Aiea Elementary School; Yali Santillan Alvarez, Honolulu, Grade 4, Kahala Elementary School; Marina Garcia, Pearl City, Grade 5, Lehua Elementary School; Tiana Hamamoto, Aiea, Grade 7, Punahou School; Rebecca Lopez, Ewa Beach, Grade 8, Ilima Intermediate School; Dillon Palalay-Valenzuela, Lihue, Grade 9, Kauai High School; Xochitt Cornejo, Kailua, Grade 10, La Pietra Hawaii School for Girls.T
To view the top winning and honorable mention designs, visit www.alaskaair.com/hawaii.
