A Montana State University graduate now working a professional freelance designer won the grand prize in the university’s 125th anniversary poster design contest. Additionally, an MSU student, a Bozeman high school student and a member of the Bozeman community also received cash prizes.
 
Kelsey Dzintars, a graphic designer who graduated from MSU in 2009 with honors and is now a professional designer, won $1,000 for her design, which prominently features a bold line drawing of the head of a bobcat, the school’s mascot. Dzintars’s poster will be used to promote the anniversary throughout the state. Events begin Feb. 16, 2018, and will run throughout the year.

 
MSU President Waded Cruzado said that the contest drew 114 entries from across the region. The university was thrilled with both the number and the quality of the submissions, she said.
 
“We thank all of the entrants for their excellence. There were so many creative expressions of Montana State University that the judges had a difficult time making the final selection,” said Cruzado, who was one of the judges, whose number included other university leaders and design professionals.
 
Other winners and their categories included Anna Pierce, an MSU student from Lewiston, Idaho, who won first place in the MSU student category. She will receive a $1,000 cash prize.
 
Quaid Cey, a student at Bozeman High School, was the first place winner in the Montana high school student category. Cey also receives a $1,000 prize, as did Patrick Hoffman from Bozeman, who was the first place winner in the community category.
 
All of the entries will be on display at MSU’s Exit Gallery from Feb. 5-23, Cruzado said.
 
MSU’s two-day 125th anniversary celebration, set for Feb. 16-18, will begin with the university’s Awards for Excellence dinner honoring MSU’s top seniors and their mentors. The Bobcat Birthday Bash, an all-day event centered on the MSU Centennial Mall and Romney Oval, is scheduled Feb. 17, 2018. The event will feature ice skating, a Ferris wheel, music and food, tours of campus programs and inspiring lectures. In addition, the Associated Students of MSU will lead winter games for students, which will include an opening ceremony and other activities. All events are free and open to the public.

“We invite one and all to join us in what we believe will be a memorable event,” Cruzado said.
 
For more information about the Bobcat Birthday Bash, go to montana.edu/125.