For about 55 Denver incoming high school freshman, the idea of using engineering software and a 3-D printer to transform their drawings into three-dimensional models seemed daunting.

Devi Kalla, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Metropolitan State University, asked a group of the students if they had doubts about their ability to accomplish the task. Hands shot into the air.

Brent Dysart, one of the mentors in the program and a student at MSU, said that despite the ninth-graders’ initial doubts, the students pushed through the classes. “We couldn’t be more proud of your achievement,” he said.

It’s that kind of mindset — the realization that despite their initial nervousness, the students could achieve seemingly unreachable goals — that this camp intends to nourish in the students. And the end goal is for these ninth-graders to apply that mindset further down the road, when they start thinking about becoming the first in their families to attend college.

Read the full story on Chalkbeat Colorado.