Congrats to the 'New Year, New You' Portfolio Challenge Winners and Runner-Ups!
Published: (February 19, 2026 at 03:34 PM EST)
4 min read
Source: Dev.to
Source: Dev.to
# Winners & Runner‑Ups
**New Year, New You Portfolio Challenge** – Presented by Google AI
The results are in! We are thrilled to announce the winners of the [New Year, New You Portfolio Challenge Presented by Google AI](https://dev.to/devteam/join-the-new-year-new-you-portfolio-challenge-3000-in-prizes-feedback-from-google-ai-team-4e7g).
It was incredibly difficult for our judges to make final selections for this challenge. There was so much interactivity, creativity, and personal touches across all the portfolios we reviewed. A few common themes that surfaced were OS‑inspired portfolios, game‑based portfolios, and 3D portfolios. Overall, we were super impressed by all the participants – we received **over 300 submissions**!
We hope everyone who participated is proud of what they built and found the experience valuable. Hopefully, this was worth your time and you are actually using your submission as your portfolio!
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## 🎉 Congratulations To…
### 1. “I Built an Accessible Retro Gamified Portfolio (With Pixel Art, Games & OS System Vibes)”
**[@mewmewdevart](https://dev.to/mewmewdevart)** asked a simple question while building her portfolio: *where did the fun go?* Instead of a traditional portfolio, she built an interactive 2D top‑down game with handcrafted pixel art and a lot of CSS.
What makes this submission especially remarkable is the layer of care underneath: it meets **WCAG 2.1 AA/AAA** accessibility standards, supports full keyboard navigation and screen readers, and is available in **English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese**.
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### 2. “Stop Reading Resumes, Start Doomscrolling – a TikTok‑style Portfolio with an AI Architect”
**[@cammanhhoang](https://dev.to/cammanhhoang)** didn’t want recruiters to read a PDF. They wanted to hijack the dopamine loop. The result is **DevReels**, a TikTok‑style portfolio that presents project showcases as a cinematic video feed.
What elevates this portfolio beyond a clever UI concept is **“Ask The Architect”** – a context‑aware AI agent powered by **Gemini 1.5 Flash** that can answer questions about specific projects.
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### 3. “I Built a Windows 98‑Style Desktop Portfolio with AI 💾”
There’s something deeply personal about **[@uribejr](https://dev.to/uribejr)**’s submission that sets it apart. Rather than simply reaching for a retro aesthetic, Enrique built an entire Windows 98‑style desktop experience rooted in genuine nostalgia.
The result is a fully interactive OS‑in‑the‑browser, complete with:
- a centralized window manager,
- draggable overlapping windows,
- a SoundCloud‑powered media player,
- a Pong mini‑game,
- a persistent Notepad messenger,
- a Pixel Avatar Maker that lets visitors create and export their own retro character.
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## 🏅 Runner‑Ups
We also want to recognize our five runner‑ups, who will each receive personalized feedback from the Google AI team. Give their submissions a look!
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## 📋 Portfolio Feedback
Our winners and runner‑up participants will all receive direct feedback on their portfolios from **Priya** or **Sara** on the Google AI Team. Here is a little more information about each of them:
- **Priya Pandey** – Developer Relations Engineering Manager at Google (Serverless & Security). Former Senior Security Architect at Manulife and a seven‑year veteran at Deloitte, where she partnered with large‑scale enterprises on complex cloud security challenges.
- **Sara Ford** – Senior Developer Relations Engineer at Google (Cloud Run). Previously at GitHub and Microsoft, taught software engineering at Cal Poly, is a Distinguished Engineering Fellow at Mississippi State University, and holds a Master’s in Human Factors (UX) from San Jose State University.
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## 🎁 Prizes
### Winners (3)
- **$1,000 USD** each
- Exclusive **DEV Badge**
- Completion badge on their DEV profile
### Runner‑Ups (5)
- Personalized feedback on their portfolio
- Exclusive **DEV Badge**
- Completion badge on their DEV profile
### All Participants
- Completion badge on their DEV profile (valid submission)
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## 🙏 A Note of Thanks to Our Sponsor
This challenge was made possible by **[Google AI](https://aistudio.google.com/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=FY25-Global-DEVpartnership-challenge1-AIS&utm_content=-&utm_term=-)**. Participants built their portfolios using Google AI’s powerful ecosystem — including **AI Studio**, **Gemini**, **Antigravity**, and **Google Cloud Run**. If you want to start building, **[Google AI Studio](https://aistudio.google.com/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=FY25-Global-DEVpartnership-challenge1-AIS&utm_content=-&utm_term=-)** is the fastest way to get started.
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## ⏭ What’s Next?
Stay tuned for more exciting challenges! Keep an eye on our [challenges page](https://dev.to/challenges) and follow our challenge tags to be the first to know about new opportunities to build, create, and win.
- `#googleaichallenge` – Official tag for submissions and announcements related to Google AI Studio Challenges.
- `#devchallenge` – Official tag for submissions and announcements related to DEV Challenges.
We hope you had fun, felt challenged, and get to use the new portfolio you built.
See you next time!
*Interested in being a volunteer judge for…* Future challenges?
Learn more here!