Pasco 8th-grader's drawing in finals of Google Doodle contest

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - A Pasco County student's drawing has been chosen as a finalist in a competition to create the next Google Doodle and Friday, June 7 is the final day the public can vote.

Google put out a call for entries to its 2019 Doodle for Google contest earlier this year. Among more than 100,000 entries, an 8th-grader from Genesis Preparatory School created one of the top entries.

Maya Wilson was chosen as the Florida winner of the 2019 Doodle for Google contest. The contest was open to thousands of K-12 students throughout the United States. 

The theme for this year's contest was "When I grow up..."

In her entry, Maya wrote "I hope to do so many things that it made me think of an octopus playing dress-up, using eight arms to do many jobs! It is hard to do multiple jobs with only two arms."

Her doodle of a coral-colored octopus wearing a nurse's hat and holding several items represents Maya's own diverse dreams, according to Genesis Preparatory School staff.

Maya says she was mentored by her art instructor, Mrs. Susy Woas.

The public is asked to vote on its favorite doodle, which will be featured on Google's home page. Vote for your favorite at https://doodles.google.com/d4g/vote/.

The winner will be announced later this month and will be invited to visit Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.