Mesa students design egg to represent Arizona at White House Easter Egg Roll

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MESA, Ariz. (FOX 10) - Students of Mesa Arts Academy got the opportunity of a lifetime -- a chance to design an Easter egg representing the state of Arizona at the 141st White House Easter Egg Roll.

Like many amazing opportunities, Principal Miranda Koperno says it all began with a phone call from the Department of Education.

"One of them personally called me and asked, 'hey, would you be interested in doing this to represent Arizona?'" Koperno said. "And of course I was like, 'yes,' so it was an amazing, exciting phone call."

The next step was the design. The teens had to come up with something that represented Arizona, but also followed strict guidelines.

"We had to stick to five colors, so that was one of the hardest things," Eighth-grader Christian Valenzuela said. "There was no grayscale, so you couldn't shade, so it all had to be solid, no shading, nothing. It had to be just the five colors, so it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and we were also on a time crunch."

The students pulled from resources around their school for help and were grateful for a teacher eager to help with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"It was wonderful to be able to have our students showcase their talent," Koperno said.

After the students submitted their final design of the White House, it was printed on the egg and ready for the big day.

Student Elizabeth Cleland says through this process, she learned a lot and has a message for young, aspiring artists.

"Just don't doubt yourself, pretty much just don't doubt yourself in anything that you want to do and just keep going," she said.