A few weeks ago we announced our five national finalists for Doodle for Google . They all beautifully showed us their responses to this year’s contest message, “I am strong because…”. One young artist stood out to us with his words, symbolism and art. We are excited to announce that our 2021 winner is 11th grader Milo Golding from Lexington, Kentucky! Milo’s Doodle titled “Finding Hope” spoke to the resilience and hope that lives in all of us. Let’s meet this year’s Google Doodle winner:
Has art always been part of your life?
For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing and creating, to the point where my parents had to apologize to my relatives because I used to draw on their walls when we visited their homes. From that moment on they always brought me drawing notebooks and pencils.
What message do you want people to take away from your Doodle?
Regardless of life’s difficulties and uncertainties, hope is always there. Our job is to find that hope to move forward.
Tell us a little about your family and your community.
Both of my parents are immigrants. My father immigrated to the United States from Jamaica and my mother from China. I grew up in a rural community in Eastern Kentucky, and after my father died, my purpose in life truly changed. It is important to me to help other children in need in my community who may have gone through something similar.
I started a charity a few years ago called Sanguine Path. We serve children aged 18 and under who have lost loved ones or been affected by challenging experiences, providing them with Christmas and birthday gifts, care packages and back-to-school kits. Family members, school staff, grief counselors, or parents and guardians may refer children to the program.
What has it been like for you to be the winner of this year’s Google Doodle?
It’s been a really fun experience so far! The other day my mom was telling me how happy and proud she was. He told me that I am becoming the person my father would have definitely wanted me to become. I often use art to advocate for things I consider important and this competition showed me that I can continue to use art to spread the message of hope and love.
I am so happy that my message of hope is conveyed in my art, that is the most important thing to me.
I am also very grateful for this opportunity. It really allowed me to not only reflect on my life, but also reaffirm what I want to do, which is help people. And I really appreciate it.
Congratulations to Milo. We are thrilled to have you as our 2021 winner. We can’t wait to see all the amazing things you do!
By Jane Woodall. Read the full article here.
