This week, an Eastside resident became one step closer to having her art put on the Google homepage, when Eva Lindberg, a third grader from Medina Elementary School, was selected as a finalist in the Doodle for Google competition.

The contest, open to K-12 students across the Unites States, asked entrants to redesign the Google logo inspired by the theme “My Best Day Ever.” Of the 130,000 students who submitted drawings, Eva’s was selected as the winning entry from Washington state. Leah Chen, an eighth grader at Tyee Middle School, was one of 250 state finalists in the Doodle for Google contest.

Eva’s father, Grant Lindberg, said he stumbled across the competition a few months ago. Seeing it as a fun, creative way for his daughters to spend the afternoon, he suggested they try their hand at a doodle. Eva jumped right in.

“That’s her passion,” said Eva’s mother, Lisa Bursett. “When she’s not at school, she’s at home drawing.”

When asked to describe her best day ever, 9-year-old Eva said she would “…take a trip to an island in the middle of the ocean and spend the day there. I would play with the island monkeys, snakes, turtles, parrots and ants. After my day on the island, I would take a boat home while the sun was setting.”

Inspired by this idea, as well as her collection of stuffed animals, Eva’s drawing features an island scene with a monkey, sea turtle and parrot.

Eva was recognized as a finalist during a special assembly held at Medina Elementary School on Wednesday morning. In addition to featuring a presentation about the Google Doodle history, Google representatives were on hand to present Eva with a special t-shirt featuring her Google logo, as well as a blown-up version of her doodle to be displayed at the school.

According to the contest rules, doodle submissions were judged based on artistic merit, creativity and theme communication. Google employee Erica Fisher, who flew in from San Francisco for the assembly, said Eva’s drawing stood out from others because of it’s personal nature and it’s relevance to the theme.

“You can tell she spent a lot of time thinking about her idea of the best day ever, and how she wanted to show that,” Fisher said.

But the competition doesn’t end here, as the public can help get Eva’s drawing to the Google homepage by voting for their favorite doodle from the 50 state winners until May 10; voting will determine the five national finalists, one in each grade group.

As part of the contest, Eva’s drawing will be displayed alongside the 49 other finalists’ in an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Google will then announce the five national finalists and one of them as the national winner on May 22 at an awards ceremony at its New York City office; all 50 finalists will be flown out for the event. The winning student’s doodle will be displayed on the Google homepage on May 23; they will also receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for their school.

To view the full list of winning doodles – including Eva’s – and to vote, go HERE.