Google

A Connecticut student gets to share her vision of the future with the world, with a little help from Google.

Sarah Harrison, a 10th grader from Bunnell High School in Connecticut, won the annual Doodle 4 Google competition with her drawing showing peace and diversity among people from all walks of life. The theme for the ninth annual contest, in which Harrison squared off against hundreds of thousands of other entries, was "What I see for the future...".

"I wanted to draw something that I hoped would show that we can all get along well, and that it's possible for us to be happy with each other," the 15-year-old told Google. Along with having her art displayed Friday on prime internet real estate with Google's hundreds of millions of views, Harrison will win a $30,000 college scholarship and a trip to the Googleplex in Mountain View.

Her school, meanwhile, will receive a $50,000 grant to spend on technology and promote STEM programs. The four other finalists, from different age groups between K-12, will receive $5,000 scholarships, and a trip to the Googleplex to visit some of the search engine giant's doodlers, as well as a free Chromebook.

Doodles are a regular feature on the Google.com search page, one of the most-trafficked places on the web. Since the first doodle appeared in 1998, Google has used the artwork to spotlight holidays, animals, scientists, artists and much more. Most are planned well in advance, but Google has even used the doodles to respond to breaking news, such as the death last year of the musician Prince.

Entrants submitted forward-looking doodles that showed, among other things, advances in virtual reality, women in science and space exploration. Google's panel of judges described Harrison's doodle as a "splendid, visionary piece" showing the future as a "harmonious community."

"I dream of a future where everyone is safe and accepted wherever they go, whoever they are," Harrison said.

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