Oak Park and River Forest High School junior Emma Vejcik knew she was running out of time to enter Google's national doodle contest for students in grades K-12. Within about 24 hours time, the 16-year-old sketched out her entry, painted it with water colors, inked over the lines with a ballpoint pen and entered her submission just before the deadline on Dec. 2.
Much to her surprise, Vejcik said, the piece was selected as the Illinois finalist in the Doodle 4 Google contest, which drew entries from thousands of students across the nation. Google hosted a small ceremony for the high school student last week, and state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, was present at the assembly to congratulate Vejcik on her piece's selection as one of the top 53 entries in the national contest.
Vejcik said she received a T-shirt and an Android tablet for her accomplishment. If her work is chosen as one of the top five finalists, Vejcik will travel to Google's headquarters in California and receive a Chromebook and a $5,000 college scholarship. If she wins the national contest, she'll receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for OPRF, and will have her doodle featured on the search engine's homepage for a day, according to the Google 4 Doodle website.
This year, students who entered the contest were asked to imagine what the future will look like. Vejcik said her doodle was inspired by her proximity to the "L" train, which runs right past her home, and a future that incorporates increasingly efficient transportation.
"Transportation is often overlooked in our society as a way of communicating with people," she said.
A panel of guest judges, including Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, and singer-songwriter Sia, were among those who selected Vejcik's work as a finalist for the contest, according to the Doodle 4 Google website.
As soon as he saw the doodle, OPRF art teacher Mark Collins said he immediately recognized it as Vejcik's work. Collins said he taught Vejcik last semester as a part of an advanced studio art class that requires students in the class to "have a certain skill level to get in and also a real passion."
Lake Central freshman wins state Google Doodle contest Meredith ColiasA Lake Central High School freshman is in the running for a $30,000 scholarship and the chance to have her artwork appear as a Google Doodle.
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This year's contest asked K-12...
A Lake Central High School freshman is in the running for a $30,000 scholarship and the chance to have her artwork appear as a Google Doodle.
Ninth-grade student Veronica Gonzalez was named as Indiana's state finalist winner of the annual Doodle 4 Google contest.
This year's contest asked K-12...
(Meredith Colias)Collins said Vejcik was able to both answer the prompt directly and execute her idea.
"It's one thing to have the idea and then another to, in a visual way, arrange the idea and present it in a way that is accurate and understandable to a wider audience," he said. "She is technically very good. Her drawing skills and her sense of coloring, her ability to work with very tight lines, all these characteristics were put to play here."
Additionally, Collins said, the word "Google" is integrated "very nicely" into Vejcik's composition. He said she absolutely deserves the honor and there's no question the piece is "top notch."
Vejcik said she hopes to pursue art as a career.
"If I don't go directly into a field of art, I hope to use my creativity to translate that into whatever work I do go into," she said.
The public has the chance to vote for their favorite doodle, including Vejcik's piece, through March 6. A panel of Google employees will select the top five national finalists and the winner of the contest will be announced before the end of March, according to the website.
Deerfield student filmmakers honored by Google Steve SadinWhen Caruso Middle School teacher Julie Witczak learned about a student film fest organized by Google, she considered it an additional elective assignment for students in her creative media arts class.
It turned out to be a lot more for some of Witczak's students who won grand prizes or received...
When Caruso Middle School teacher Julie Witczak learned about a student film fest organized by Google, she considered it an additional elective assignment for students in her creative media arts class.
It turned out to be a lot more for some of Witczak's students who won grand prizes or received...
(Steve Sadin)To vote for Vejcik's piece, visit: https://doodles.google.com/d4g/vote.html.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
