District -

Destiny Moss, an eighth-grade AVID student at Jackson STEM Middle Magnet School, has been named the first-place winner in the Mineta Transportation Institute’s (MTI) national "Ride On, Ride Safe E-Bike Style!" Essay Contest.

The Mineta Transportation Institute, which sponsors the contest, aims to increase awareness of transportation safety and encourage students to pursue careers in STEM and transit-related fields.

Representing the 2025-2026 Group 1 category, Moss outperformed peers across the nation by blending rigorous STEM research with persuasive writing. Her winning essay, titled "Age Limits with E-Bikes," tackled a pressing modern transportation issue: the lack of age-restricted operation for high-speed electric bicycles.

To prepare for the contest, students in Mrs. Jennifer McMillian’s STEM/AVID class were tasked with researching the mechanics of e-bikes, which can reach speeds of up to 28 mph, and understanding the safety implications of this emerging technology. Moss utilized her research to argue that the significant speed jump from traditional bicycles to Class-3 e-bikes necessitates a legal age limit to protect younger riders.

In her essay, Moss highlighted a staggering statistic, noting that e-bikes were linked to approximately 53,000 ER visits and 104 deaths between 2017 and 2022. She argued that the "split-second" decision-making required at high speeds is often beyond the developmental capacity of younger children.

Destiny’s achievement was recognized during the May 12 District Board meeting, where she was joined by her parents, Greg and Carla Moss, her teacher Jennifer McMillian, and Principal Fran Altringer 

"Destiny proved she has what it takes to solve a transportation safety challenge," school officials noted. "We are so proud of her ability to apply creative thinking and technical research to advocate for a safer community."