Eniola Shokunbi was only 8 years old when the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States.
Four years later, the Nigerian-American tween was tasked with a unique class project: create an invention that would combat future airborne viruses.
With cardboard, duct tape, and four furnace filters in hand, Shokunbi outfitted a simple box fan into a working air filter.
“The air goes through all the sides,” she told NBC News. “And it comes out of the top, so it filters in and out.”
The prototype was given rainbow wings, a paper beak, and round eyes as a nod to her school's mascot: a colorful owl.
At first, her invention — which cost $60 to assemble — just caught the attention of her teacher. Then, when Shokunbi and her classmates at the Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy built and installed the air filters (minus the feathers and owl accoutrement) at her school, the school board took notice.
By mid-October, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stepped in, testing its efficiency and finding that Shokunbi’s design made the grade.
Image via Eniola Shokunbi“It showed that the air filter took out over 99% of viruses in the air,” Shokunbi said. “And that it was effective.”
That’s when the state legislature took notice, too.
“I’m just blown away by these kids,” Connecticut State Senator Matt Lesser said. “Eniola is fabulous. She wows every room she’s in front of, she’s a real rock star.”
On October 22, Connecticut’s State Bond Commission approved $11.5 million in funding for University of Connecticut’s Supplemental Air Filtration for Education Program, with the intention of constructing and installing Shokunbi’s filter system in public schools in the state.
Shokunbi has big dreams for her invention. One day, she envisions schools across the country carrying her filters, improving the air quality of students everywhere.
A colorful prototype of Eniola's air filter invention, in a nod to her school's mascot. Image via Eniola Shokunbi“I want them to go to school knowing that they’re safe, that they’re healthy, 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.”
For Shokunbi, her design was inspired by living through the reality COVID-19 — and leaning into curiosity instead of fear.
“A lot of people, they don’t realize sometimes, that the only thing standing between them and getting sick is science,” Shokunbi said. “If we’re not investing in that, then we’re not investing in the kids’ future.”
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Header image via Eniola Shokunbi