Across Maine and the country, students in grades K-12 can put their artistic talent to work in the Doodle 4 Google Challenge. Now in its ninth year, the tech company’s contest gives students the chance to redesign the Google logo – and the winner’s doodle will go live on the Google.com homepage for the day on March 31^st.

Ruth Havener, a 7^th grade student at Medomak Middle School in Waldoboro, is the 2017 winner for the state of Maine. I had the pleasure to send her a congratulatory video that was shown at a surprise schoolwide assembly Medomak and Google hosted for her last week. Her doodle, “The Same Ocean in the Future”, is full of color and creativity, portraying different sea creatures that together form the word ‘Google’. Ruth is one of only fifty-three young people in the entire United States to qualify as a finalist in the Doodle 4 Google contest.

She will now advance to participate in the national competition, the winner of which will take home a $30,000 college scholarship and his or her school will receive a $50,000 Google for Education grant towards the establishment and improvement of a computer lab or technology program.

This competition is an exciting opportunity to highlight how art, technology and STEM learning can not only coexist, but can be combined to help Maine children grow, learn and become leaders in the 21^st century. By combining art and technology, we are helping prepare students for a rapidly changing digital world and simultaneously encouraging them to explore how technology can be leveraged to further innovation and creativity. It is a win-win for educators looking to create a healthy school atmosphere and get students excited to learn and for students hoping to expand their skillset and build new opportunities. 

Ruth’s creativity and artistic ability make Maine proud and we’re all rooting for her in the national competition. It’s great to see Ruth, the entire Medomak Middle School and all the students across Maine who participated in the Doodle 4 Google challenge take advantage of the promise of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, expand their imagination and develop strong skills in STEM learning.

###