In Middletown, Connecticut, a young scientist is proving that age is no barrier to making a difference. At just 13 years old, Eniola Shokunbi is turning heads with her groundbreaking air filtration system designed to protect students from airborne viruses. With a remarkable $11.5 million in funding from the Connecticut State Bond Commission, her innovation is set to be installed in schools nationwide, revolutionizing indoor air quality and student safety.
The journey of Eniola, who started lowly at Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy, tells the story of an 8-year-old who was challenged to find a way to improve safety in the classrooms. It was the year 2020; the world was making its way through COVID-19. While most thought of temporary means, Eniola came up with something different that would bring change.
Using her inspiration and common objects-a box fan, four furnace filters, and duct tape-she designed a low-cost air filtration system. Incredibly ingenious, her humble design pulls air in from its sides, releasing it at the top-clean and free of more than 99% of airborne viruses, Environmental Protection Agency tests showed. And the best part? They’re only $60 apiece to make.
“I just wanted to make a difference in my classroom,” Eniola recalls thinking. “But then I thought, why stop there?
Eniola’s invention impressed not just her teachers, but the scientists at the University of Connecticut. Together, they’ve worked on perfecting her prototype – the most important things being safety and effectiveness.
That effort is now validated as on October 22, 2024, the Connecticut State Bond Commission unanimously approved funding for her project. The initiative-a part of the Supplemental Air Filtration for Education Program administered by UConn-will bring Eniola’s systems to classrooms across the state and beyond.
State Senator Matt Lesser praised her this way: “a real rock star,” he said, explaining how her work reflects the very best of innovation and community spirit. “Eniola’s project isn’t about air filters,” Lesser said. “It’s about the future-our children, our schools, and our health.”
For Eniola, it is not just about making a product but about inspiring others. “A lot of people sometimes don’t realize that the only thing standing between them and getting sick is science,” she passionately says. From an inquisitive fifth-grader to a nationally recognized innovator, her story stands in a class of its own to vouch for the potential of young minds.
And her peers have taken notice. Her invention has spurred a general interest in science and engineering at school. She speaks to her classmates on a regular basis, urging others to think out of the box and find solutions to societal issues. “Innovation doesn’t have to be complicated,” she says. “It just has to work.”
While the first money will go into Connecticut schools, Eniola plans to take her program one day nationwide. “Every classroom in America deserves clean air,” she says. With the determination she has shown and commitments from local leaders, that dream would seem well in sight.
This is a signal already of how her invention is gradually gaining practical effects: students can now study in cleaner and healthier conditions than otherwise. And enthusiasm for her project is palpable.
To Eniola, this is an indication of the things that are possible if a community decides to invest in young talents. The story of Eniola Shokunbi is one of invention, but also of resilience, creativity, and community support. Air filtration is not her invention’s sole mission; it looks for a path toward a bright and healthy future.
And in a world where so many apparent insurmountable challenges in public health often loom, the journey of Eniola brought a simple yet profound message-solutions are within reach, and sometimes they arrive from the most unexpected quarters.
