A Connecticut middle school student is leading the charge on a $11.5 million project to build virus-filtering air systems in classrooms across the state.
The funding stems from a project Eniola Shokunbi started in fifth grade during which she helped create an air filter system that removes cold and COVID viruses from classrooms. Shokunbi and her classmates built and installed the innovative filters at the Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy in Middletown, Connecticut. The students also worked with scientists and the University of Connecticut on the project.
“The air goes through all the sides,” Shokunbi explained, per NBC Connecticut. “And it comes out of the top, so it filters in and out.”
Each system consists of a box fan, four furnace filters, duct tape, and cardboard, costing roughly $60 to make. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in North Carolina tested and certified the air filters.
“It showed that the air filter took out over 99% of viruses in the air,” Shokunbi said. “And that it was effective.”
In a unanimous decision, the State Bond Commission recently approved $11.5 million to build and install more of Shokunbi’s air systems at schools in the state. The funding will be directed to the University of Connecticut as part of the school’s Supplemental Air Filtration for Education Program.
“A lot of people, they don’t realize sometimes, that they only thing standing between them and getting sick is science,” Shokunbi said. “If we’re not investing in that, then we’re not investing the kids’ future.”
The young student said she hopes to get the filters in every classroom in America.
“I want them to go to school knowing that they’re safe, that they’re health, that they can learn,” Shokunbi said. “I really love explaining to people and seeing their faces, seeing them realize that this could change so many lives.”
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