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SOUTH LAKES HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR WINS T-SHIRT CONTEST

     Alyssa Marie Siqueiros, a junior at South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia, was recently announced the winner of the Reston Festival 2010 T-shirt Contest.  Alyssa beat out 44 other students from both South Lakes and Herndon High Schools.

     The contest is in its third year and was held in conjunction with the Reston Festival, Reston annual birthday celebration, which will be held July 10 and 11, 2010 at the Reston Town Center.  Alyssa’s winning design will be placed on the official festival t-shirts, which will be worn by festival staff and volunteers and will be sold to the public. 

     Alyssa participated in the contest as part of an assignment for her Visual Communications class.  Although she is currently considering a career in journalism, according to her teacher, Amy Saylor, she has displayed a lot of artistic talent.

     “She is one of my top 10 students as far as her abilities and her design sense,” said Saylor.  “I knew it was a great design when I saw it.  It was simple and to the point.  Its simplicity and overall great design represents Reston very well.”

     Winning came as a complete surprise to Alyssa, however, whose interests lie more in writing and sports.  She currently serves as features editor of her school newspaper and will be managing editor next year.  She’s also a member of her school’s softball and volleyball teams and coaches middle school students in volleyball.

     “I thought it was really cool,” she said about winning the contest.  “I thought it was funny because when I gave it to my teacher, she was like, oh, this is it.  This is going to win.  And I was like, no, it’s not...but it did, so that was cool.”

     Alyssa had two choices for the class assignment, one being to design the cover of the school’s daily assignment books, the other the Reston Festival t-shirt.  She chose the t-shirt because of her past experience designing athletic wear for the school’s athletic teams.      Originally from San Diego, Alyssa and her older brother, Tyler, moved to Reston eight years ago when their mother was offered a job in Virginia.  She says she likes Reston because she thinks the schools are better, the people more trustworthy and because she considers Reston a safe place in which to raise a family.

     Once she graduates from high school, though, she plans on moving back west to attend college either at Arizona State or Cal State Fullerton.  Despite her future plans, she says she is glad to have grown up in the Reston area.

     “I’m glad I got my education here and stuff because I know I have so many more opportunities like from being here, like it’s such a nice place to grow up actually.”