Jenks Student Wins ‘Doodle for Google’
Darbi Mulkins is hoping to turn a piece of artwork into a college scholarship and a place on one of the world’s most popular websites.
Mulkins, who recently completed eighth grade at Jenks Middle School, is one of 53 national finalists in the 2019 “Doodle for Google” competition. If her doodle is selected as the winning entry, Mulkins’ art will appear on the Google homepage to be viewed by hundreds of millions of people. In addition, she will receive a $30,000 scholarship, $50,000 of technology for her school, a trip to Google headquarters in California and Google hardware.
The theme of the competition is “When I grow up, I hope…” and Mulkins’ doodle is an ocean scene featuring a coral reef and a variety of sea life as the letters in the word “Google.” The 15-year old’s hope is for oceans to be free from litter, pollution or other man-made disruptions.
“My family goes to Sanibel Island in Florida every year, and I’ve always loved the ocean,” remarked Mulkins. “The ocean is the one place I feel no anxiety and the one place I feel completely at peace. When people look at my doodle, I hope they feel the same sense of peace I have when I look at the ocean.”
For having the top design in Oklahoma, Mulkins received an Acer tablet, a tote bag full of Google prizes, and a giant print of her doodle. She was completely stunned when she received the news of her state victory.
“I think it’s mind-blowing,” stated Mulkins. “I’m usually very critical of myself and at first, I didn’t think it was very good. I thought it was fake when they first told me I won, but I got very excited when I found out it was real. It made me feel so much better about my art, and this is something that could mean so much to my future.”
Go to doodles.google.com/d4g/vote/ to cast your vote. Mulkins’ doodle is listed in the “Grades 8-9” section under “Oklahoma.”
