Among tens of thousands of applications, a recent graduate from Jackson-Reed High School in D.C. won this year’s national Doodle for Google contest.
Winner Maisie Derlega’s art shows an aerial image of a dinner table full of food, plates and flowers. If you look closely, items down the center of the table spell out “Google.”
Maisie’s art appears on Google’s homepage nationwide.
For this year’s theme, students in kindergarten through 12th grade were encouraged to submit artwork based on their wishes for the next 25 years. With Maisie soon leaving for college, she said her piece was inspired by her love for her family’s Sunday dinners.
“In the next 25 years, there are many things I wish for, but one of the things I wish for is for some things to stay the same, including these family dinners I have every Sunday,” she said live on “The TODAY Show” on Wednesday morning.
She said she spent about 35 hours on the winning piece.
Three children in the DC Metropolitan area are finalists in Google’s “Doodle for Google” competition. NBC 4’s Juliana Valencia has the story.
Maisie will receive a $55,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology package for her school. She already received a prerecorded message of congratulations from singer Olivia Rodrigo.
In the fall, she plans to study art and design at the University of Michigan. She said on “The TODAY Show” that she hopes to pursue a career in illustration and graphic design.
“I’m going to college next year and there’s been a lot of things I’ve been thinking about that are changing. When I come back to visit, I hope these family dinners continue to happen,” she said during her interview on “The TODAY Show.”
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Maisie’s mom, dad and young brother appeared with her on the show. They spoke about how proud they are of her.
“I knew she’d win,” her brother said.