Press Release
The annual Doodle for Google contest returns for the 15th year to showcase student artwork from around the country. Today, Google is thrilled to announce South Carolina's Haniyah Simone Robinson of Shaw Air Force Base is one of our 54 state and territory winners. Haniyah entered in the 8-9 grade group from Hillcrest Middle School and was selected for her artistic rendition which she titled, “Second Wonders of the World.”
In January, Google invited K-12 students from across the U.S. to answer the prompt, “I am grateful for…” through their art, encouraging students to take a step back from their busy lives to refocus on what's most important to them. This year's theme is all about promoting mental health, by focusing on the positive impact of gratitude.
“This illustration includes a jaguar, snake, shark, toucan, meerkat and snapping turtle, all shaped to form the Google logo,” Haniyah said. “I drew animals because of all the biodiversity that often goes ignored by most people. However, I am extremely grateful for animals because of how unique they are.”
Submissions for this year's contest are reviewed by four guest judges: “Stranger Things” star actor and student Noah Schnapp, bestselling author and illustrator Brian Selznick, 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell, and Doodle team lead Jessica Yu. The Doodles are judged based on artistic merit, creativity, and theme communication.
The public will be invited to help determine who will go on to become one of our five national finalists, one of which will go on to become the National Winner. People can visit doodle4google.com to cast their vote starting today.
The winning artist will see their work on the Google.com homepage for a day, receive a $30,000 college scholarship, and the winner's school will receive a $50,000 technology grant.
Since the Doodle for Google contest launched back in 2008, we've seen hundreds of thousands of amazing Doodles. Students have submitted artwork celebrating everything from self-care and inner strength to their dreams about the future. Our annual student art contest has become a highlight for so many of us at Google, because it's an opportunity to experience the creativity, thoughtfulness and talent of younger generations.
