Sharon Huang, 17, journeyed from her Richmond, B.C. home to Ottawa, Ont. on Thursday. She is the designer of the official poster for 'Celebrate Canada!' -- a nation-wide celebration of holidays that include Canada Day.

Huang is one of 13 students from across the country who won a trip to the nation's capital to ring in Canada's 140th birthday. The students were finalists of the poster contest held by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage.

Each student hails from a different province or territory and was the winner in that area.

Sixteen-year old Bridget Penny of Springfield, Manitoba, placed second. She said her design incorporated "the famous and the ordinary" and "the big and the small" all swirling around a maple leaf to show the diversity of Canada.

Third-placed Jenna Mortemore, 17, from Edmonton, Alberta said her design takes Canada's achievements and freezes them so anyone can "stand back to admire the portrait 140 years has created."

The other finalists:

  • Sonya Haas, 17, Brent's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador

  • Daniel Yu, 17, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

  • Jessie Kang, 17, Bedford, Nova Scotia

  • Zacharie Robert, 8, Moncton, New Brunswick

  • Dominique Paquet, 14, Pont-Rouge, Quebec

  •  Jane Wu, 16, Toronto, Ontario

  • Morgan McKellar, 15, Outlook, Saskatchewan

  • Camila Lopez, 10, Whitehorse, Yukon

  • Caleigh Matheson, 9, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

  • Trisha Campbell, 13, Iqaluit, Nunavut

of all the posters.

Students all over Canada were invited to illustrate, in one poster, the people, places and events they believe shaped the nation. The theme this year was 'A Portrait of Canada: Celebrating 140 Years'.

"My poster shows the technological developments Canada has evolved through. I have also drawn the natural beauties and the multicultural society across our country," Huang told the Ministry of Heritage after her win. "They all contribute to Canada's independence throughout history, and shape the nation that symbolizes freedom and unique diversity we know as Canada today."

"I think it's the geographic environment that makes Canada so unique. Because of the rich natural resources, we can build a great society," Huang told Â鶹´«Ã½, on the phone from Ottawa Friday.

She hopes that in the future, Canadians are more aware of environment and she wants to see greater protection of the landscape.

Huang moved to Canada from Taiwan three years ago. Besides her B.C. home, she has also been to Alberta but always wanted to visit the capital -- a dream that came true this weekend.

When asked for his reaction to the opportunity Huang has been given, the vice-principal of her school, Iain Lancaster, told Â鶹´«Ã½ he was "really happy and pleased about it."

Huang took the initiative to enter the contest herself. She consulted her art teacher for artistic guidance but took the project on independently. Lancaster called her a "keen artist."

Her poster was also used for three other holidays included in 'Celebrate Canada!': National Aboriginal day on June 21, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on June 24 and Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27.

Canada Day will be the last time it will be used to mark a holiday but Huang's poster will hang until September, along with other finalists' work, in the Canadian Children's Museum at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.