GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The White House rolled out the red carpet Tuesday for students and staff of a Grand Rapids school.

Several members of the West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology met First Lady Michelle Obama to receive the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for their Teen Arts and Tech Program, an after-school organization that brings hands-on learning to high school students from photography to video game programming

“Kids who have gotten involved in the arts have better grades. They are more likely to graduate from high school. They are more likely to then go on to college. And to anyone who somehow still doubts the power of the arts to transform students’ lives, to anyone who still isn’t completely convinced, I just urge you to find one of these students and talk to one of them,” First Lady Michelle Obama said at the award ceremony.

WMCAT was one of 12 groups to receive the award, along with the Sphinx Organization out of Detroit.

The recipients were picked out of a pool of 251 nominees for engaging young people in the arts or humanities, improving achievement and advancement.