Doodle for Google: North Allegheny student earns shot at national finals

Not only did Sophia Cuevas get selected as a state finalist for the 16th annual Doodle for Google contest, she also was surprised by her family at a special celebration at her school on May 22.

That also happened to be her 11th birthday.

Google selected Sophia, a Peebles Elementary fifth grader, as one of 55 state and territory winners across the United States among tens of thousands of submissions from students in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to Marley McAliley, a spokesperson for Google.

Sophia is the only finalist from Pennsylvania this year.

Now she is in the running to become one of the five national finalists and eventually the national winner. Voting is open to anyone until June 4 at doodle4google.com.

Each finalist received a laptop, Google swag and decorations for his or her school to celebrate the announcement. Peebles staff members surprised Sophia and classmates with the proclamation, even inviting her family to share in the news.

Sophia said she saw the drawing contest on the Google website. In celebration of Google’s 25th anniversary, students were asked to submit artwork that answers the prompt “My wish for the next 25 years…” through their art.

“I thought I had a pretty good chance,” Sophia said.

Her artwork is titled “My wish for the next 25 years is that we can ‘paint’ the world back to a natural ecosystem,” with the depiction of a brush painting a healthy environment over the Google logo.

She came up with the idea after realizing how the environment and nature were suffering.

“I thought what better thing to do than to draw something about it,” she said.

McAliley said the goal of the Google contest was to spark imagination and inspire young minds to dream big.

“We were amazed by the submissions we received. Across ages, students showcased their visions for the future in thoughtful and unique ways. Young artists shared a range of things they wished for in the next 25 years, including safer communities, technological breakthroughs, a cleaner planet and greater unity among people,” McAliley said.

“Given the challenging nature of the past few years, we were really inspired to see the many ways students have been facing the opportunities and challenges that the future brings.”

Sophia’s sister, Khloe, 9, is in third grade at Peebles. They were joined that day by their parents, Valerie and Chrstopher, and brothers, Alex, 2, and Aiden, almost 1.

Sophia signs up for various art competitions and recently made a video displaying her current clay pencil-topper creations, said her parents.

“She pretty much does everything herself. She’s really into drawing,” Valerie said.

Helping celebrate at Peebles were Sophia’s homeroom teacher, Erin Sullivan; North Allegheny School District Superintendent Brendan Hyland; Elizabeth Warner, school board president; and a Google representative.

Peebles Principal Susie Bjalobok is encouraging everyone to vote for Sophia through the Doodle for Google page.

“You inspire all of these people here. It’s a big deal and we’re really proud of you,” Bjalobok told her.

Not only was Sophia recognized for the Google contest, she also attended that evening’s school board recognition for the winners of the Dr. Marcia Martin Diversity Expression Contest. She received an honorable mention for the drawing category in fourth and fifth grades with her art themed “Share our similarities, celebrate our differences.”

The contest is through the NA Empower club and is open to all grades in the district in various categories.

Members of the Cuevas family, who lives in McCandless, are happy with Sophia’s recent accolades.

“We’re kind of blown away with how everything has been going,” said Christopher.