Meet the national finalists of our 10th annual Doodle 4 Google contest

In January, we kicked off our 10th year of Doodle 4 Google, and students across all 53 states and territories submitted their representations of this year’s theme, “What Inspires Me...”

We couldn’t help but be inspired ourselves by all of the submissions. This year’s 180,000+ Doodles covered everything imaginable, from cooking to family to dragons.

Now, after millions of public votes, we’re excited to introduce our five national finalists, one from each age group. Here’s what these young artists had to say about their masterpieces:

Grades K-3: Sarah Gomez-Lane (Grade 1, Falls Church, VA)
"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!"

Grades 4-5: Sia Srivastava (Grade 4, Prosper, TX)
"I am very inspired about space travel. I want to explore the galaxy and visit different planets and create a rollercoaster through our universe!”

Grades 6-7: Ignacio Burgos (Grade 7, Portsmouth, RI)
"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!"

Grades 8-9: Madelyn Kieh (Grade 9, Yeadon, PA)
"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."

Grades 10-12: Mark Thivierge (Grade 10, Lutz, FL)
"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."

The national finalists will all receive a Pixelbook computer, a $5,000 college scholarship, and a trip to Google’s headquarters in California to celebrate with the other finalists and meet the Doodle Team.

Come back on June 18 to find out who will be the national winner. Thanks to all who voted and all the young artists who submitted their Doodles. We can’t wait to see what you dream up next year!