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Google announces national finalists for its Doodle contest

The theme for this year's competition for kids is "What Inspires Me..."

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
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Abrar Al-Heeti
2 min read

Five young artists are one step closer to having their doodles displayed on Google's homepage for a day.

Google announced the national finalists for its 10th annual Doodle 4 Google contest on Monday, selecting one person from each of the five age groups: K-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 and 10-12.  

The final artwork was chosen from a pool of more than 180,000 Doodles, the company said in a release. This year's theme was "What Inspires Me..."

Here's the artwork from the five finalists, along with a description from each.

saragomezlane-d4g-max-1000x1000
Sarah Gomez-Lane

Sarah Gomez-Lane, a first-grader from Falls Church, Virginia said: "The things on my Doodle are my favorite dinosaurs. Dinosaurs inspire me to study more to be a paleontologist. The shovel is for my future job!"


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Sia Srivastava

Sia Srivastava, a fourth-grader from Prosper, Texas, said: "I am very inspired about space travel. I want to explore the galaxy and visit different planets and create a rollercoaster through our universe!"


ignacio-burgos-d4g-max-1000x1000
Ignacio Burgos

Ignacio Burgos, a seventh-grader from Portsmouth, Rhode Island, said: "Fashion inspires me because of how you can reflect your own personal style into just a single garment. Inspiration can be drawn from anywhere and can show any sort of idea. Whatever you can imagine!"


pa-madelyn-kieh-d4g-max-1000x1000
Madelyn Kieh

Madelyn Kieh, a ninth-grader from Yeadon, Pennsylvania, said: "The thing that inspires me the most is the work of others. When I see an amazing art piece made by someone else, it motivates me to improve my own art. In my Doodle, I drew my big sister, whose artwork has inspired me to draw since I was young."


fl-mark-thivierge-d4g-max-1000x1000
Mark Thivierge

Mark Thivierge, a tenth-grader from Lutz, Florida, said: "Nature has existed long before we have and therefore is where we draw our inspiration from. The word 'inspire' means to 'breathe in' and the wonders of nature are where I breathe in and find meaning in my mathematics, science, music and writing."

All national finalists are getting a Pixelbook computer, a $5,000 college scholarship and a trip to Google's Mountain View, California, headquarters.

The winner will be announced June 18.

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