Aurora fourth-grader Madison J. Lee has some big news that she’s looking forward to sharing with her pet fish.
The Black Forest Hills Elementary School student has been named one of 53 U.S. state and territories finalists for the annual “Doodle 4 Google” competition, meaning her work could be featured on the global search engine’s website and seen by hundreds of millions of people.
Madison was announced as Colorado’s statewide winner Thursday at a surprise school assembly attended by Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams.
“It was really cool because these two people from Google came and I was really surprised,” an overjoyed 9-year-old Madison said after her state win was announced. She said her classmates were chanting her name.
Google’s contest this year, its ninth annual, was open to K-12 students across the U.S. The theme was to redesign the search engine’s logo under the phrase “What I see for the future…”
Madison’s doodle — titled “What Awaits Us in the Future” — features a futuristic, alien-filled landscape. It was selected from thousands of entries received from Colorado this year.
She said she was excited to share her victory with her pet fish, saying she thought “he already knows.”
“I probably use (Google) for my homework more than I’m supposed to,” she said, explaining that she admires the company. “I started thinking about all these things that we will be cool for the future.”
Voting opened Thursday for the 53 doodler finalists and will close on March 6. You can cast your vote for Madison’s artwork at: google.com/doodle4google/vote.html.
There will be five national finalists — one from each grade group — and one will be picked as the national winner March 31. The winner’s doodle will be featured as the Google logo on the company’s website that day.
“If you see my doodle please vote for it,” Madison said. “If you don’t want to vote for it, that’s OK because it’s so great to be Colorado’s finalist.”
The national winner will take home a $30,000 college scholarship and his or her school will receive a $50,000 Google for Education grant toward the establishment and improvement of a computer lab or technology program.
“As someone who regularly uses Google and enjoys the ever-changing art,” Williams said in a written statement, “it is an honor to present this award,”
