Remote Project Ties Together Many Necessary Skillsets

Victoria sews buttons onto headbands in her dorm room.

As the semester nears its end, the mad scramble to study for exams, write papers, and finalize major presentations can become all-consuming and overwhelming.

But even with finals looming, Biomedical Engineer Victoria Blazeby was looking for ways to help others for whom the current situation is even more intense.

She explains that she “scoured” ELN’s Project Portal website, looking for ways to help “ongoing COVID-19 efforts.”

It was there she came upon UB Librarian Cindi Tysick’s project, “Masks for the World,” which aims to produce hand-sewn masks for health workers as well as UB partners in Ghana and Tanzania, who are preparing for the further spread of the virus.

Victoria began making “headbands with buttons to hold the masks in place, thus saving the doctors and nurses from sore ears,” said Ms. Tysick.

Victoria says she worked “to complete the headbands as quickly as I could so the healthcare workers in need could wear them as soon as possible to minimize their pain during these long shifts.”

Completing 16 headbands during her finals week alone, Victoria adds that the project helped her refine not only her sewing skills but also her time management skills, sewing while “still jugging my finals assignments.”

One benefit of working remotely is the ability to be independent and self-sufficient, choosing how best to organize and balance projects you want to do.

“I would HIGHLY encourage my fellow colleagues to participate in projects remotely during this time - especially with COVID efforts and aiding to mitigate the shortage of these materials.”

Just another UB student doing her part to help save the world!