“It just feels like a good environment,” said student Celia Lopez, who grew up in Thornton. “You feel welcome.”

After a short, post-high school hiatus, Natsuno Tokumi moved to Denver from Japan. Like Lopez, Tokumi kicked off her higher-education work at an area community college before becoming a Lynx.

“So I was a little older than my peers. But I was able to find a lot of students like myself who have a different story,” said Tokumi, a dual sociology and psychology major. “That’s what makes this school unique. I feel like I’m here, and I’m a part of it.”