Georgia Teen, Arantza Peña Popo’s Heartwarming Drawing Wins Google’s Doodle Contest


Well deserved.

For years now, Google has been hosting their Google Doodle Contest, in which one lucky and talented child is given the chance to have their drawing featured on the search engine’s homepage for a day. This past Tuesday, Colombia-born, Georgia Teen, Arantza Peña Popo was revealed to be this year’s winner on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. Fallon, who served as one the contest’s judges, invited Popo to share her inspiration behind her doodle, titled “Once You Get It, Give It Back”. 

The theme this year’s contest was “When I grow up, I hope …”. While the theme can easily be interpreted as prompting an idea relating to the state the world, Popo decided to keep it personal. She submitted her doodle to Google with the following description: “When I grow up, I hope to care for my mom as much as she cared for me my entire life. In my doodle, there is a framed picture my mother carrying me as a baby — a real picture in my house — and below the picture is me, caring for her when she’s older in the future.”

Not only was Popo’s doodle featured on the Google homepage, but she also won a $30,000 college scholarship (she plans on attending the University Southern California) and her current school, Arabia Mountain High School, will be given a $50,000 technology grant. 

Watch Arantza unveil her colorful drawing to The Tonight Show audience below.