COVID - 19 Face Shields

When the Novel Coronavirus (COVID – 19) began to spread in the United States back in March/April of 2020, there was a severe shortage of PPE for healthcare professionals. They were getting infected and dying largely due to a lack of preparation for the virus, leading to the lack of facemasks, gowns, and face shields. I grew up participating in Boy Scouts, and in my ten years of scouting, we took an oath every Monday, “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” I never thought much of it growing up, but have realized over the years that it is a code to live by. In particular, the simple yet powerful, “help other people at all times”. There were tons of people in need, and I wanted to do what I could to help. To begin, I contacted a nurse who was working at Shady Grove Hospital in Maryland. After discussing what the problems were, and what they would need, we settled on face shields. I bought some overhead projector clear film sets, a memory foam mattress, some elastic nylon webbing, spray glue, wood glue, and gorilla glue. I made a few different iterations, and sent them to Maryland for some feedback. 

Once the design was working, I raised $1021 in about 5 hours in GoFundMe, then bought all the necessary supplies. I spent about 2 hours a day for a few day making over 400 face shields to send to hospitals in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. At the end of the day, I am happy I was able to contribute something positive to the world. I didn’t find a cure for cancer, or invent antigravity, but I helped save a few people’s lives. I believe that as an engineer, I have a duty to use my talents to make the world a better place, and I plan on continuing to do so.