The University of Colorado Boulder expanded its free college program to serve students specifically in its engineering school.

Engineering students from low-income families at the University of Colorado Boulder will be able to earn their degrees for free under an expansion of the school’s CU Promise program.

It’s the first time the university has created a free college program specific to one field. Lattice Scholars is propped up by a donation from local engineering firm Campos EPC and provides financial and academic support to low-income Colorado students who are the first to go to college in their family.

The program is significant because students from low-income backgrounds are underrepresented in STEM fields, and STEM degrees often lead to the kind of high-paying jobs that can change the economic trajectory of entire families.

The program provides free tuition to first-generation Colorado students whose families make less than $65,000 a year. Students don’t need to apply. Instead, the school identifies eligible full-time students through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

Keith Molenaar, dean of the university’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, said the donation shows how business leaders can help more Coloradans from backgrounds that are less represented at CU Boulder and colleges across the state realize their dreams of higher education.

“We’ve shown we can do it,” Molenaar said. “We’re really looking forward to having other schools and colleges try to expand this across the university.”

This year, the school doubled the number of students who can qualify for the CU Promise program, which now serves about 3,500 students.

In a news release, school leaders said the expansion happened through donations and a new law this year that allows the school to enroll more out-of-state students who pay higher tuition if it provides more aid to Colorado students.

The Lattice Scholars program, however, is the first within a specific program and the first sustained by a major donation.

About 65 students this year are part of the Lattice Scholars program. Those students also get academic and advising support to help them finish college.

Mindy Zarske, an integrated design engineering teaching professor, said students learn about financial wellness, academic skills, and life after they leave the dorms. Students also get to connect with other scholars, which helps them form a network they can rely on, she said.

Zarske said it’s important to not only remove financial barriers for first-generation students, but help them get comfortable with navigating college life. That helps scholars “feel more empowered,” she said. Faculty and staff also learn how to better help students when money isn’t an issue.

“Are they able to focus better if we provide them with support? How does that help them persist? This is their dream and we want to get them there,” she said.

Marco Campos, whose foundation and engineering business Campos EPC donated to make the Lattice program happen, said it’s important for him to give back to diverse students who want to go into engineering. Campos graduated from CU Boulder’s engineering school as a low-income, first-generation student, so helping others with similar backgrounds is a mission of his.

He also said helping diverse students allows his company to find employees with different life experiences. He hopes other business leaders see the value in helping students.

“It’s just doing the right thing,” Campos said. “My hope is that this platform will serve as a big enough sounding board for one or two other companies, whatever it is, to get motivated.”

SMARTLAB ENABLES STUDENTS TO COLLABORATE ON HANDS-ON PROJECTS FOCUSING ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH PROJECTS, COMMONLY KNOWN AS STEM.

Students at St. Joseph Catholic School in Placentia have been engaging with a high-tech workspace called the SmartLab.

As Diocese of Orange schools celebrate Catholic Schools Week, the addition of a SmartLab is one example of the efforts being made by Diocese schools to strengthen students’ faith and learning experiences.

Serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade, the SmartLab is equipped with computers and advanced programing, enabling students to learn science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“It gives them ownership in what we do here at school,” St. Joseph principal Amanda Hawley said. “And it gives them the experience to work with somebody, accept critiques, really work on what someone needs and be able to put out something that they can be proud of.”

With 12 workstations that can accommodate up to 24 students, SmartLab enables students to collaborate on hands-on projects focusing on science, technology, engineering and math projects, commonly known as STEM.

When combined with art programming, as is the case with St. Joseph, the curriculum is often referred to as STEAM.

The school acquired the SmartLab through its relationship with Campos EPC, an Engineering, Procurement and Construction company with offices in nearby Anaheim.

When Campos was opening its new Anaheim office in 2020, company administrators were looking to  identify a school in the area that they could support with both educational materials as well as engineers to teach and inspire students about their industry, Hawley said.

In March 2022, Campos engineers installed a SmartLab at St. Joseph. Shortly after the SmartLab was installed, Bishop Kevin Vann visited St. Joseph to celebrate Mass and bless the new workspace. SmartLab users utilize elements such as Snap Circuits, K’nex machines, Ozbots and Claymation stop motion video.

In December, Campos engineers returned to St. Joseph and gifted some of the latest SmartLab technology used for media arts, including Go Pros and a robotic camera.

“We wanted to come to have the opportunity to see what you guys have been working on, and perhaps focus on this upcoming year with film arts,” Campos engineer Christien Lindblom told students during his visit. “Science, technology, engineering and math are very dear to our hearts, and we are really happy to be here.”

Campos engineers will continue to visit St. Joseph to help students become more proficient in SmartLab.

The lab has helped students become more focused and build stronger critical thinking skills that they will take with them into high school and use in all areas of their lives, said St. Joseph technology coordinator James Weiss, who teaches science and STEM classes.

“It’s been so amazing just getting the opportunity to see the kids, because the STEM lab is so different,” Weiss said. “In a normal classroom, it tends to be me giving them information and then they have to absorb it, use it and figure out how it works. Whereas, in here it’s not necessarily me being the end-all expert on things. It’s more that they have the technology and then they are figuring out how to use it. Teaching themselves in a sense, figuring it out for themselves.”

In September, St. Anne Catholic School in Santa Ana also installed a SmartLab, which was partially paid for by John and Barbara Heffernan, who have spent decades supporting the school with monetary and in-kind donations.