Google has just announced the winner for its 2018 Doodle for Google contest. Meet Sarah Gomez-Lane, a 6-year-old girl from Virginia.
Aside from national recognition, Sarah nabs a shiny prize — the coveted $30,000 college scholarship fund from the tech company itself. Google features her drawing on the U.S. Google homepage.
2018 Doodle For Google Contest
On Monday, Jan. 7, Google named the lucky winner for the 2018 Doodle for Google contest on its official YouTube channel.
"Today, we're thrilled to share the work of our 2018 Doodle for Google winner on the US Google homepage: 2nd grader Sarah Gomez-Lane, who drew delightful dinosaurs to highlight her dream of becoming a paleontologist! We fell in love with Sarah's rendering of her dinos, and were blown away by her big (you might even say "dino-sized"!) ambitions for her future, especially at her young age," googledoodles wrote.
"When they called my name, I was surprised," Sarah exclaimed in the video.
The Doodle for Google, now on its 10th year, featured the 2018 theme "What inspires you." The same behind-the-scenes video revealed that the announcement of the winner was made after Google had invited the finalists for every grade level to its main office based in California. During that time, the contestants were able to meet Google's professional doodlers.
An Aspiring Paleontologist
Sarah's parents told WJLA, an ABC station in Washington D.C., that their daughter doodled dinosaurs as she aspires to become a paleontologist someday. Sarah worked on her drawing during a power outage while at her school on a stormy day last year. The 6-year-old bested 182,000 other entries for the contest, which saw doodles of roller coasters, outer space, and others.
According to Google, apart from the $30,000 college scholarship fund for the second-grader, it also awards her school, Pine Spring Elementary School in Falls Church, a $50,000 funding that should be used for its technology-related needs. Sarah's school decides to spend this money on interactive smart boards.
Sarah also gets to be the first winner of the contest to work alongside Google's artists to convert her drawing into an "animated, interactive experience."
