Three young people in the D.C. area are now among 55 finalists competing to be the national Doodle for Google contest winner on June 4.
Google announced the state and territory winners on Wednesday.
Google's 25th anniversary inspired the prompt "My wish for the next 25 years..." The young artists expressed their hopes for the future through their art. Students in grades K-12 are invited to create their own interpretation of the Google logo.
Arya Pribadi of Greenbriar West Elementary School in Fairfax, Virginia was the Virginia winner. According to the Doodle for Google website, her piece "The No Sickness Doodle" was about her hope that "nobody gets sick and that there are vaccines for every sickness there is."
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Sofia Ravilious, a second grader at Kensington-Parkwood Elementary School in Kensington, Maryland, was the Maryland winner. Her piece "Nature will never end" was inspired by her hope for more places for animals to survive in the future.
"I like nature and I just like going outside and looking for bugs," Ravilious said.
Ravilious had only one medium in mind for this contest: clay. She said she liked to mix the colors and getting it how she envisioned was easier. She practiced drawing and coloring some of the animals so she knew exactly what she wanted to do when she got the clay.
Her mother Erin Pickar was the first to know that her daughter was chosen out of the tens of thousands of submissions first.
"[I was] so excited for her and it was hard to keep it a secret and not have to tell her," Pickar said.
To tell the talented finalist, Kiersten Willis, Ravilious' teacher, helped organize a special surprise. The whole grade went out for a supposed break after math class when it was really for the big reveal.
Their class was the first class outside, accompanied soon after by the other second-grade classes and waited for their principal Mrs. Ross to come and start chanting her name: "Go Sofia! Go Sofia!"
The D.C. winner was Maisie Derlega of Jackson-Reed High School. Her artwork "Family Dinner" was inspired by a Sunday night tradition in her family.
"Every Sunday night is filled with chaos, laughter, and the smell of food in my household," Derlega said in a press release. "As my life grows and changes, my wish for the next 25 years is that this tradition remains a constant."
The national winner's artwork will be displayed on Google.com for one day. They will receive:
- a $55,000 college scholarship
- a $50,000 technology package for their school/nonprofit organization
- Google hardware
- Google swag
Along with the national winner, there are category winners who will have their artwork featured on the Google site. Each winner will get a $5,000 scholarship, Google hardware and Google swag. Categories include:
- Planet Award - A Doodle that honors the planet and focuses on sustainability
- Good Neighbor Award - A Doodle that dreams big and centers its wish around local community
- Imagination Award - For the out-of-this world mind blowing Doodle
- Biggest Smile Award - For the most contagiously funny and playful Doodle
- Tech Wiz Award - A Doodle that highlights how technology can positively influence the world
To vote and see the rest of the students' submissions, visit the Doodle for Google site. Voting ends on June 4 at 11:59 p.m.
CORRECTION (May 24, 2024, 5:46 p.m.): An earlier version of this article misspelled Sofia's name.
