As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eniola Shokunbi launched an ambitious project to improve school air quality. In October, the Connecticut State Bond Commission approved $11.5 million in funding to aid with the air filter system initiative, reports NBC Connecticut.
When Eniola was a fifth grader at Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy in Middletown, she led the effort to create a virus-filtering air system that would be able to remove cold and COVID viruses from the classroom.
Eniola and her classmates built and installed the filters with the help of scientists at the University of Connecticut. The units are made with a box fan, four furnace filters, duct tape, and cardboard. Each unit costs approximately $60 making the filters highly affordable.
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“The air goes through all the sides, and it comes out of the top, so it filters in and out.” the 12-year-old said of the functionality of the air filter.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in North Carolina tested and certified the air filter’s efficiency. The agency found that it removed over 99% of viruses in the air.
“Eniola is fabulous. She wows every room she’s in front of. She’s a real rock star,” said State Senator Matt Lesser, according to NBC Connecticut.
Since the students installed the air filters, Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy has been using them. The board-approved funds will be allocated to UConn under its Supplemental Air Filtration for Education Program for the construction and installation of the air filter system for other schools in the state.
“A lot of people don’t realize sometimes that the only thing standing between them and getting sick is science,” Eniola stated. “If we’re not investing in that, then we’re not investing in kids’ futures.”
