The reimaged specialized license plate for Iowa drivers supporting education will go into production this summer.
DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Education today named 16-year-old sophomore Erin Cho as the winner of the Iowa Education License Plate Design Challenge during a surprise announcement at Ames High School.
“The Department launched this first-of-its-kind design challenge to help celebrate education across Iowa while recognizing the incredible artistic talent of our learners,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow, “As we invited Iowa’s students to reimagine our education license plate, Erin Cho created a thoughtful and skillful design that Iowa drivers can soon choose to proudly display. We congratulate Erin and all of the participants, semifinalists and finalists on their outstanding artwork.”
The winning license plate design features Iowa’s state bird, the American goldfinch, depicted as an educator and students perched upon three colorful school books.
"We are delighted at the vibrant new design of the Iowa Education License Plate and congratulate Erin for her creativity," stated Iowa Department of Transportation Director Scott Marler. "We thank all of the entrants and the Department of Education, and we look forward to making this plate available to Iowans later this year."
Erin was presented with a poster-sized version of her license plate design during the announcement with Director McKenzie Snow, Principal Paul Numendahl, her high school art teacher Lindsay Wede and other Department and school officials. She was also joined by her mom, Jiwon Jeon, and was congratulated by her fellow classmates after the announcement.
View more photos from the announcement at our Flickr album.
Lindsay Wede, high school art teacher at Ames High School and 2024 Art Teacher of the Year, submitted Erin’s winning artwork for consideration.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Erin Cho in multiple art classes, Art Club, and National Art Honor Society,” Wede said. “I am absolutely thrilled that Erin's well-thought-out design was chosen. Erin puts a lot of thought and effort into her art projects and shows a deep commitment to continuous learning. She contributes in classes and in clubs and knows the importance of helping others. Erin is overall an amazing student with great work, and I'm so excited that her design was selected for this! Congratulations Erin!”
Launched in September 2024, the Iowa Education License Plate Contest offered K-12 students the unique opportunity to submit designs for the state’s current education license plate, which has been in place since 1997. As a result, art teachers submitted more than 100 qualified license plate designs featuring original artwork from talented students across the state. A committee of Iowa art teachers reviewed and selected 16 semifinalists from the total number of submissions. Each entry was reviewed for creativity, originality, artistic skill and its representation of celebrating Iowa education. Through a public voting period earlier this spring, Iowans narrowed the field to finalists for consideration.
The artwork of all 16 semifinalists will be displayed later this year at the Department’s Grimes State Office Building location and can be viewed now on the Department’s website.
Specialized education license plates are a great way for Iowa drivers to show their support of education across the state. The new license plate, featuring Erin Cho’s design, can be ordered later this summer through the Iowa Department of Transportation. The fees collected from the purchase of specialized license plates support school districts with the highest per pupil transportation costs, including schools serving rural communities.
Additional information on the Iowa Education License Plate Contest can be found on the Department’s website.