Fayetteville Student Finalist In Contest

GOOGLE COMPETITION VOTING ENDS TODAY

By Jon Schleuss

Posted: May 25, 2010 at 5:59 a.m.

This drawing by Hannah Newsom, 16, of Fayetteville, is entitled Dawn of Hope and was submitted for the national competition Doodle4Google. Newsom is one out of 40 regional finalists selected by Google jurors out of more than 33,000 entries.

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FAYETTEVILLE — A Fayetteville student was named a regional finalist in a national competition that challenged students to design a Google logo inspired by a theme. The finalists now publicly compete for a $15,000 scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for their school.

Hannah Newsom, 16, is home-schooled by her mother Lisa, who teaches art classes locally and at Ecclesia College in Springdale.

Newsom is one of 40 finalists selected by a panel of judges in the Doodle 4 Google competition. More than 33,000 entries were submitted, and Newsom now competes in a public vote to become one of the top four finalists.

Voting will be open until 7 p.m. today at www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html

The competition has four divisions for grades K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. Each group has 10 finalists. Newsom is in the 10-12th grade division.

The family will travel today to New York City where the finalists will meet some of the judges, including illustrators, cartoonists and animators from Disney, the Sesame Street Workshop, The Peanuts Gang and Mattel.

Newsom said this is the first time she's been to New York City and she's excited to see the Statue of Liberty and all the art museums New York has to offer.

Google executives and employees will select the final winner and feature their doodle on the Google homepage on May 27.

Since Newsom is home-schooled, there's no indication of where the $25,000 grant would go if she won, her mother said. Google representatives didn't respond to that question at the time of writing.

Newsom submitted a drawing entitled "Dawn of Hope" which features two people in a hot air balloon over a background that mixes the day and night skies. A red bird sits inside the first "G" in Google.

"I think of birds as symbols of Hope," Newsom said by phone Monday. She said she likes Emily Dickinson's portrayal, which says "Hope is the thing with feathers."

Students were asked to submit their designs based on the theme "If I Could Do Anything, I Would..."

Newsom said this was actually the second time she's been a regional finalist in the competition. Anne Espiritu, manager of global communications and public affairs at Google said, "Either the stars aligned for her or she's just incredibly talented."

Newsom's mother said they enjoyed the trip to Mountain View, Calif., when Hannah was a regional finalist in 2008. "They really make the kids feel like kings and queens," she said.

Newsom said she wanted to go to college to study illustration and creative writing after she graduates in 2012.

She is the only student from Arkansas to become a regional finalist in this year's competition.

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