Stephanie Duque: Making Masks for Frontline Workers
Stephanie Duque wearing one of her first masks she made.
May 25, 2020
Sophomore Stephanie Duque has taken it upon herself to make her own masks due to shortages of them around the nation. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly throughout Florida, citizens have purchased or taken most surgical masks available in stores and hospitals which inevitably affected those who were not able to purchase any in time.
With that in mind, Duque realized how much time she had on her hands and decided to do something about it. She googled DIY videos on how to make
Stephanie Duque family’s co-workers wearing her masks to work.
a mask and got to work. She followed the instructions from the video step by step to produce her final results. Sewing was not a difficult task for her as she was taught how to sew at a young age by her aunt, over the years her interest in sewing declined but since she was involved in the fashion designed class taught by Ms. Monzon, she gained more knowledge and better techniques. Because of her previous experience with sewing, she had extra cotton fabric laying around the house to which she used for the masks. The homemade masks were given to family members and her fathers’ co-workers who are still needed at work.
Duque had the once in a lifetime opportunity to be featured on a popular television network, Univision. Her uncle, who works for the company, thought it would be nice to make a video on the amazing outcome of her kindness and creativity. Not thinking much of it he submitted the video and before they knew it, Duque’s clip was plastered over the TV screen during the afternoon news.
” I could not be more excited or grateful for this opportunity, it is not every day that someone gets to be on the news for doing a good deed,” sophomore Stephanie Duque said.
Just like the rest of us, Duque has kept up with news about COVID-19 on the daily. She believes it is everyone’s duty to make sure we stay inside during these harsh times and if under any circumstance we do go out, to make sure we wear gloves, masks and most importantly wash our hands.
”Her masks are super cute and I think customizing them is a good idea, it is a way of making it your own,” Junior Isabelle Barbery said.
Since receiving tons of positive reactions, Duque has decided to continue making and donating masks for those who need it the most. Her kind and caring spirit has benefited those in compromising positions and her generosity exemplifies the true spirit of a Cavalier.
