The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Naperville native Hannah Mondel as the winner of the #MaskUpIL competition after she entered her custom-designed mask.
Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico, Councilman Benny White, Naperville Central High School Principal Bill Wiesbrook, and IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike presented her with the award outside the Municipal Center.
“Hannah, you stepped up from our community and I would like to commend you for doing so,” said Chirico. “I cannot stress enough how powerful our young adults’ voices can be in our community and your winning mask design exemplifies just how important that role is.”
Why Her Mask Won
Hannah Mondel’s winning mask design
The winning mask depicts three racially-diverse people standing six feet apart holding signs that together read “Yes U Can” which was the theme of the #MaskUpIL competition.
“Several months ago, I had the opportunity to hear from our youth around the state and young people during a town hall meeting as they grappled with the changes we were facing as we were battling this pandemic. At the end of the forum I challenged them to leverage their creativity, their personal style to promote mask use, social distancing, and hand washing to help curb the spread of infection among their peers. Based on the them #YesUCan, which affirmed their ability to withstand the pandemic, we launched a statewide mask competition and the responses were outstanding.”
Mondel was one of 25 finalists, but hers was chosen as the winner for “her concise illustration of appropriate safety measures, the diversity of her design and her incorporation of the competition theme.”
“Stepping in the Right Direction”
“I know the pandemic has been really challenging for so many and I think this campaign has done a great job of putting a positive light on the pandemic and stepping in the right direction,” said Mondel.
Mondel is a 2020 graduate of Naperville Central High School and is currently a student at Benedictine University. IDPH replicated Mondel’s mask and sent them to all Naperville elementary schools for young students to wear.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
Video Courtesy of Illinois Department of Public Health
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