By Martel Sharpe
Arabia Mountain High School graduate Arantza Pena Popo was recently awarded a $30,000 college scholarship after her design won the “Doodle for Google” competition.
The Dekalb county student’s scholarship came by way of a nationwide competition, held by Google, which commissioned grad-schools to redesign Google’s logo with the guideline of making the theme “When I grow up, I hope…”
Popo’s winning design, titled “Once you get it, give back,” featured a portrait of her mother carrying her as an infant, hanging above a depiction of an adult Popo caring for her elderly mother.
It was also celebrated by Google as a featured “doodle” on their website for the 24-hours on Aug 13.
“At first, I honestly wanted to do an invention or a career but I wanted to make it more personal to me so I decided to make it about my mother,” Popo said on “The Jimmy Fallon Show.”
“She’s made so many sacrifices for me so I kind of wanted to show me paying it back in the future. She cares so much for me and sacrificed so much so I just care for her in the future and make her life better in the future.”
A native of Colombia and resident of Lithonia, Popo graduated from Arabia Mountain as her class valedictorian.
As a result of her triumph, her high school will also receive an award, in the form of a $50,000 technology package from Google, to establish a computer or technology lab.
While there were many other finalists from 11 states and Guam, Popo was the only choice from Georgia, beating out over 200,000 submissions.
Last year, one of her artwork was chosen for the 2018 Congressional Arts Competition, where one of her charcoal pieces was displayed for a year at the U.S. Capitol.
Popo says she plans to study graphic design at the University of Southern California this fall.
Coincidentally, her prize also includes a trip to Google’s headquarters in California.
This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.
