Despite not even starting the project until deadline day, Arantza Peña Popo walked away with the grand prize for the 2019 Doodle for Google contest. The Lithonia, Georgia teen decided to honor her mother when she considered the theme, “When I grow up, I hope… ,” Popo drew an image of an older version of herself and her mother standing in front of a portrait of her young mother holding Popo as an infant.
“I came up with the idea at the last minute, actually the day of the deadline. I looked at the photograph of my mother (the real version that inspired the drawing) and thought, ‘Hey, why don’t I reverse it?,’ Popo stated. “I wanted to focus more on a message of helping out my awesome mother, more than anything else.”
Popo’s Doodle, titled, “Once you get it, give it back,” is on display for the next 24 hours.
The 18-year-old will receive a $30,000 scholarship and an opportunity to visit Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. She earned valedictorian honors at Arabia Mountain High School in DeKalb County, Georgia. Her school will receive $50,000 worth of tech equipment.
She plans to attend the University of Southern California this fall. Although talented, she does not pretend to have it all figured out.
“I think at 30 years old I’ll feel like a grownup. I’m 18 now and I still feel like a kid,” Popo shared.
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