PORTSMOUTH — Next stop, Silicon Valley.
Ignacio Burgos, the Portsmouth Middle School seventh-grader who was named the Rhode Island winner of the national Doodle for Google competition …
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PORTSMOUTH — Next stop, Silicon Valley.
Ignacio Burgos, the Portsmouth Middle School seventh-grader who was named the Rhode Island winner of the national Doodle for Google competition last month, is now a member of an even more exclusive club.
“I learned last Tuesday from Google that I’m in the top five in the entire country; my parents got the call,” the soft-spoken lover of art and fashion said in an interview at the school Monday morning.
“I was very surprised. I didn’t even know they would call; I thought they’d announce it on the website,” he said.
Students from kindergarten through grade 12 in 53 states and territories are invited each year to submit their artwork to the Doodle 4 Google contest. This year’s theme was “What inspires me,” and about 200,000 entries flooded into Google.
Ignacio was honored during a school assembly in early May after being named the state winner. Then, after public voting from May 7 to 18 at doodle4google.com, he was one of only five national finalists remaining. One winner was chosen from each age group, and Ignacio took the honors in the grades 6-to-7 range.
On June 16, Ignacio and members of his family — his parents are Maria and Eric Burgos — are flying to Silicon Valley in the southern San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, where the Google headquarters are located.
“And then on the 18th, that’s when they’ll officially announce who the top one is,” Ignacio said.
The national winner will get a behind-the-scenes experience with the Doodle team to transform his or her image into an interactive experience on Google.com.
The overall winner also receives a $30,000 college scholarship, a $50,000 technology package for his/her school or a non-profit organization, Google hardware and more company swag.
Does he believe he has a chance to win the top prize?
“Possibly. One out of five — that’s pretty good,” said Ignacio.
Even if he isn’t named the national winner, Ignacio will still receive a $5,000 college scholarship and have his image featured on the Doodle 4 Google online gallery.
His Google Doodle, called “Ideas from Fashion,” combines his passion for both art and clothes by putting the brand name inside a dressmaker’s studio. (The “G” is used as a hanger, while the “e” is part of a sewing machine.)
“I think it’s unbelievable,” said Lauren McCann, a product marketing manager on the Google for Education team, during last month’s school assembly. “He did a really great job in staying true to himself with the theme, and he was really creative. He’s obviously a fantastic artist, so we just thought his piece really stood out from all the rest.”
‘It inspires me’
Ignacio’s love for fashion started a few years ago, he said.
“I really like art, but it’s something that’s really taken off compared to other interests I’ve had. It inspires me,” said Ignacio, adding he might want to become a fashion designer when he’s older.
“It’s a bit hard to decide, but something art-related,” he said.
Ignacio also had kind words to share about his school, which has been rooting for him all along.
“I really like how we have a lot of diversity and how the teachers really try to connect us with technology with field trips,” he said. “This weekend, teachers did go to Salem to extend our learning about the Salem witch trials, so I like how the teachers are so devoted.”
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