A Waterloo High School freshman is using his time at home during the coronavirus pandemic to keep up with his studies while also helping medical professionals.

Jack Schnepel recently donated 200 mask adapters to St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo. 

Schnepel used a 3-D printer at his home to “print” the adapters, which make protective masks more comfortable to wear.

“I saw on the news that people were needing supplies, so I went on a website that had 3-D printing templates for COVID-19 relief,” Schnepel said. 

The adapters are thin, plastic extenders about three inches long by a half inch wide that feature hooks to allow users of medical face masks to connect the elastic bands on each side of the mask to make them more comfortable.

“They take about six minutes to print,” Schnepel said, adding he was able to have 200 ready for donation in about three days.

He donated the extenders to St. Luke’s last Wednesday after completing his schoolwork.

“They were thrilled to be getting them,” Schnepel said.

He chose that specific hospital for two reasons. His mother is a patient at the location for an auto-immune condition and Jack was also born there, but he said he would be happy to print more extenders for any interested organization.

Schnepel is a computer technology fanatic and plans to start a robotics club next year at WHS. He plans on majoring in computer engineering in college.