She Needed an Arm. So These Students 3D Printed a Frozen-Themed Prosthetic One

It was just a few hours after finishing the third grade, as she kicked off her summer vacation, that Karissa Mitchell, 9, became part Disney Princess.

The Stillwater, N.Y., girl was born without a right hand and missing most of her wrist. So students at Siena College gifted her an ice-blue prosthetic arm modeled off the movie Frozen. Physics majors at the school designed and used the school’s 3D printer to create the prosthetic arm, which has fingers that open and close by bending the elbow. Using design files made available online by Enable the Future—a volunteer network that helps get free prosthetics to people in need—students printed pieces for an arm to perfectly fit Karissa, complete with a removable Olaf light to match her favorite character from her favorite movie.

“It’s awesome!” Karissa said after getting the arm.

“Karissa really identifies with Elsa because she knows what it’s like to be different from everyone else,” Karissa’s mother said in a video put out by the school. “She doesn’t want to be seen as different, which has made her extremely determined to do things as well, if not better, than others.”