LYNDEN, Wash. — A teenager from Whatcom County has been announced as a state winner for the 14th annual Doodle for Google contest.
The doodle competition is open to students in grades K-12. The contest calls for students to create their own Google Doodle for a chance at scholarships and tech packages for their schools - not to mention the winner will be featured on google.com and seen by billions of people.
In January, Google asked students across the country to submit their ideas for the contest. Each year, the contestants are given a prompt. This year, students were invited to answer the prompt “I care for myself by…” through their art.
Josie Hendricks just finished her freshman year at Lynden Christian High School and turns 16 next week. Josie won the Doodle Google contest in Washington state. She will compete with 53 other state and territory winners for big scholarship money.
Josie said the COVID-19 pandemic gave her time at home to boost her watercolor painting skills. Her inspiration for her art was a happy memory from her grandparents backyard.
“I care for myself … by remembering! The tire swing is just a really fond memory for me and I think about it when I need to forget about present problems,” she said.
Her happy memory caught the attention of the judges, including artist, entrepreneur and activist Selena Gomez. A vote of confidence from a celebrity Josie admires.
“That’s just crazy!” she said.
Josie says her painting was inspired by a school project and it would mean the world to her to share in the winnings. The finalists will be narrowed down to five. The winner will receives $30,000 in scholarship money and a hefty tech package for the school or nonprofit.
“It’s $50,000 for the school, so that would be amazing for everyone and it would be so helpful,” Josie said. “I hope you vote!”
The Doodle for Google voting is live. It is broken up into five grade groups. Josie’s “Tire Swing” falls under the 8-9 category. Voting ends on July 12!