Way to Go! Mineola student makes ear relief straps
Chris Morandi, a senior at Mineola High School, has made more than 300 face masks straps for health care workers. Credit: Mineola School District
A Mineola High School student has been striving to help essential workers feel more comfortable amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Chris Morandi, a senior, has made more than 300 ear relief straps in recent months to increase comfort for health care workers who need to wear masks all day while working. He started making the straps after his mother saw a post in which someone offered a 3D printer for use on a Facebook group called Mineola Moms and Dads.
To get started on the project, the crafty Morandi downloaded the Cura software program to access plans to create the mask accessories. After experimenting with the design and scaling it to fit the 3D printer he was working with, Morandi made his first 40 straps, which he donated to Operation PPE, a group of Mineola families dedicated to helping health care workers.
"Chris is an amazing young man," Mineola Principal Whittney Smith said. "He is part of our computer science cohort, a varsity athlete, a leader in the classroom, and the first one to lend a hand when needed. It is not surprising that he would get involved in an endeavor to help health care workers."
Morandi, who is also a member of the Mineola-Farmingdale Computer Science Program, plans to continue creating the ear relief straps "as long as there is a demand," Mineola officials said.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
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