MANCHESTER, NH – A talented student in New Hampshire could soon have their art on the Google homepage for millions to see. Google is announcing the 54 State and Territory winners in its 12th annual Doodle for Google competition, a contest open to K-12 students across the United States to design a Google Doodle inspired by the theme “I show kindness by…”.

Sophia Biondolillo, 14, of Manchester, is a student at Virtual Learning Academy Charter School in Exeter. She is one of the 54 State and Territory Winners across the country and her doodle in the Grade 8-9 category was selected from thousands of entries received from New Hampshire this year.

In describing her doodle, Sophia answered the question “I show kindness by…” as follows:

“I drew a string of paper dolls to show that I am kind by being inclusive and accepting people no matter what their identity may be. Even though each doll has a different appearance, they’re all cut from the same paper, and in that way, they’re all the same.”

Sophia aspires to be a children’s book illustrator one day.

In the next stage of the contest, Google invites the public to vote for their favorite Doodle from the 54 State and Territory Winners, in order to help determine which students will go on to become one of the five National Finalists. Voting will be open from August 17-August 21 on the Doodle for Google website: doodle4google.com.

Public voting will be a factor in selecting the national winner, however, there is also an esteemed panel of judges – Entertainer and YouTuber Lilly Singh, 2019 National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson who teaches students in youth detention at Virgie Binford Education Center in Richmond, Va., and author/illustrator Mari Andrew.

Google will then announce the five National Finalists in August, one of which will go on to become the National Winner and have their Doodle featured on the Google homepage for a day.

National Finalists will each win a $5,000 college scholarship, Google hardware, and custom swag.

The National Winner will take home a $30,000 college scholarship and his or her school will receive a $50,000 tech package towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or technology program.

Go to the Grade 8-9 Category and find Sophia’s doodle. You can vote once between Aug. 17-21.