Amber Billings completely forgot she entered in a design contest until she received a call from Orbit telling her she’d won $5,000 in July 2011.

“I was running around my house, trying to find my Dad, so I could tell him about it,” she said.

The University of Minnesota graphic design major will see her winning design on shelves with seven other winners of the Orbit Spotlight Series Design Contest in mid-December, according to a press release.

Billings said she imitated patterns she had used in a color class to design the package of a new gum Melon Remix.

She was chosen from 237 entries on uniqueness and originality, said Jennifer Jackson-Luth, senior manager of marketing communications for Wrigley, via email.

Billings said she would use her earnings to pay her apartment rent and as a resume boost.

Because of the success of the “crowd-sourced” gum package, Orbit will launch its next package design contest on Facebook, according to the release.

“We live in an age of personalization…people enjoy putting their mark on the brands they love,” Jackson-Luth said.