In a nationwide sweep of more than 10,000 student submissions, 18‑year‑old Kameirah Johnson of Lakeside School in Renton was selected as the winner of Google’s 17th‑annual Doodle contest, announced on June 26, 2026 during a TODAY show segment in New York.
Johnson’s entry, titled “Hair Power: The Crown That Grows from Us,” uses stylized crowns made of hair to celebrate cultural identity and family ties, a theme that resonated with Google’s creative team.
Besides the global spotlight, Johnson will receive a $55,000 scholarship to pursue economics and studio arts at New York University, while Lakeside School will be awarded a $50,000 technology package to support its art program.
Google’s Doodle program, now in its 17th year, has spotlighted students from Washington before, including Mahee Chandrasekhar of Redmond High in 2025 and Rebecca Wu of International School in Bellevue in 2023.
Johnson said the win validates her vision of merging creativity with business, a goal she has pursued since age eleven.
The scholarship will be disbursed before the fall semester, and Johnson is scheduled to begin classes at NYU in September 2026.