PWCS Students Make Face Shields For Hospitals

WOODBRIDGE, VA — As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, the country has heard dozens, if not hundreds of reports of hospitals running low on supplies, sometimes leaving doctors and nurses without masks, gowns or shields to protect them from the disease. As communities rally to help get those health care providers the supplies they need, Prince William County Public Schools is celebrating two current students and one of their former students who are all trying to make a difference.

PWCS says two students at Forest Park High School, Thomas Bryne and Desmen Boykin, are using their skills with 3D-printing to make extra face shields. According to the school district, Boykin's sister is a surgical nurse in Charlottesville, when he heard reports of supply shortages he started looking for ways he could help out.

Now Boykin and Byrne are using some of the time they would have been in class to make face shields each day. Each shield they print takes about an hour and a half to print and assemble, and they've already made more than 40 masks. The duo says some of their shields will be sent to nearby UVA Hospital but that they've gotten requests for shields from as far as New York.

The school district is also recognizing former student Cynthia Kirkland, who is embarking on a similar project. Kirkland is a Woodbridge High graduate who now works as a costume maker for Walt Disney World, and has experience making masks and 3D printing as part of her job. When she heard about the face mask shortage, she began printing shields to donate to The George Washington University Hospital.

Inspired by her success, she then helped form a Facebook group called Print the Curve Flat which gives the instructions and blueprints to 3D print masks and shields for donation. The group has now grown to almost 500 members, with some members making almost 100 face masks and guards.

The Prince William County School district says they're proud to see both their current and former students doing so much to help in a time of crisis.