Ariana Formica, a New World School of the Arts visual arts 9th grade student could soon have her art on the Google homepage for hundreds of millions to see. Google has announced the State and Territory winners in its Doodle for Google competition, a contest where K-12 students across the United States can create their own version of the Google logo inspired by a prompt. “My wish for the next 25 years is to bring more mental health awareness to kids through art therapy. In the future, I want to be an art therapist and make therapy more accessible for all children. The future children under my care are using childlike art forms to build the Google logo,” said Ariana.
Ariana’s Doodle, “The Children Project” was selected from thousands of entries received this year and was one of 55 State and Territory Winners. Along with the NWSA high school Principal, Dr. Contessa Bryant, and visual arts teacher, Ray Parris, NWSA fellow students helped Ariana celebrate during a surprise assembly. “New World is so proud of Ariana. She’s won the Florida competition for Google as a freshman! I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her,” noted Dr. Bryant.
To help their favorite Doodles succeed, people across the U.S. can vote for their favorite Doodle from the 55 State and Territory Winners. Voting will be open through June 4 and the public vote will determine the contest finalists and winner. Google will announce these five National Finalists, one of whom will have their Doddle featured on the Google homepage for a day. The National Winner will take home a $55,000 college scholarship and their school will receive a $50,000 tech package towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or technology program.