Watchung Students Are Finalists In 'Quality Of Life' Competition

WATCHUNG, NJ — Three seniors at Mount Saint Mary Academy, in Watchung, are finalists in the W!SE (Working in Support of Education) Annual Quality of Life competition, for their project to design and manufacture sustainable masks for school-wide use.

The team is made up of Leanne Paolino, from Somerset, Aryanna Perez, from Edison, and Meghan Webber, from Madison.

"Our team worked very hard on our project this year, producing environmentally sustainable masks with secondhand fabrics from thrift stores," Perez said, in a statement sent out by the school.

The three started working on their project back in March. They met every weekend for a month and video chatted during the week, to put together the masks.

Their 100% tightly woven cotton fabrics came from t-shirts they thrifted at a Watchung store.

"Our team actually had no prior experience with sewing, but we were able to learn through YouTube tutorials," Perez said. " We washed our purchased fabric and began working on a practical prototype mask. Once we figured out a design that fit well, we began to mass-produce the masks in different colors and color block designs."

The students worked with mentors along the way and got connected to a textile industry professional.

"Our team put a lot of hard work into this idea because we are all very passionate about making an impact in our community to help better the environment," Webber said.

The final round of the competition will happen virtually on June 8.