ETHOS • FALL 2020
globally, as the deadly COVID-19 began to grip people’s lives, keeping millions at home under lock-down if not in strict quarantine. As life came to a stand-still, schools like ACS Athens had to interrupt normal operations, move teaching and learning online and find new and innovative ways to continue students’ education.
Social awareness ACS Athens Student Joins Greek 3d Printing Group Flattening the curve, one mask at a time by John Papadakis, Director of Communications
H
alandri, April 27, 2020
Whether this has been the Spring of the Quarantine, the Spring of the Coronavirus, or the Spring of the Lockdown, it is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of the human population. We have all been hearing about the Spanish Flu pandemic at the beginning of the 20th century, but that period’s 500 million cases and 50 million deaths is very far from the 3 million Coronavirus cases and 352,000+ deaths (as tallied to-date). The effect on people’s lives around the world has nevertheless been extraordinary, to say the least. Professional activity, commercial operations, tourism, and all aspects of business life, even the subsistence of entire nations is put on hold since the beginning of this year, beginning with China and spreading
ACS Athens had to close for the first time since 1990 and everyone had to come to grips with this new reality. Due to the exceptional efforts of the entire ACS Athens community, operations adjusted practically overnight to a new modus operandi; digital platforms for online collaboration of teachers and students, administrators and staff, allowed virtual classrooms to take place and online activity flourished. This unprecedented disruption brought outstanding innovation. Innovation that had been years in the making, however. Students and faculty had already embarked on an educational adventure in the digital domain since 2008, something which allowed them to seize the opportunity offered to them with the nationwide school shut down and transition of online learning. ACS Athens was ready, and well-prepared to meet perhaps the greatest challenge of our life so far. Other than academics, many members of the community have embarked on extra-curricular activities, civic and volunteer projects, and were inspired by the global predicament. One ACS Athens student, 11th grader Jason Stavros Somoglou, engaged in an innovative and self- driven initiative; producing 3D-printed face masks to assist medical support facilities. He managed to manufacture 20 face masks at a time in exchange for more raw material. Jason explained that the idea came when an adult friend of his sent him an interesting article on 3D printing (shield) masks in the United States and in various other countries. “This caught my attention and I wondered whether Greece had its own version of this. Turns out we did! I found a group chat on Facebook that had around 200 members at the time and I joined. It was interesting to see how all of these 3D hobbyists and enthusiasts brought together their resources to help fight the epidemic. I knew that I had to help and chip in, in order to help flatten the curve.”
