SPS Today: Student Donates Protective Masks

Caring for the SPS Community

Jana F. Brown

Like her peers, Dolan Kou ’23 did not know when she left St. Paul’s for her home in Beijing, China, for March Break on February 29 that she would not be returning to the School to complete the 2019-20 academic year.

The cancellation of the remainder of the in-person school year, and the distance from her second home in Concord, inspired the Third Former to think of ways to reach out to the SPS community from 6,600 miles away.

“I really wanted to do something for the community that I am living in and really wanted to be a useful person,” says Kou. “I know there are many doctors and nurses who are risking their lives to save other people’s lives, but I can’t do that.”

Wanting to do something to boost the safety of her teachers and others at St. Paul’s, Kou came up with an idea. A friend of her family works at a company in China that was producing masks to help protect against the COVID-19 outbreak. So, Kou and her family arranged to send 600 of the masks to St. Paul’s.

“I decided to donate some masks to the SPS community since that is the only thing I can do to help right now,” says Kou. “I just wanted to help more people because the whole world is fighting with COVID-19, and we really should spread kindness and love.” In addition to sharing their gratitude to Kou via messages and through her adviser, Sarah Ludwig, some SPS faculty members paid it forward by donating the masks sent by Kou to front-line medical workers at Concord Hospital

“I definitely supported them doing that,” says Kou.

The School put 100 of the Kou-donated masks in Ohrstrom Library for community members to pick up if needed, and Medical Director John Bassi helped distribute the remainder to medical professionals in the Concord area. In addition to the masks donated by Kou, the School also gave surplus medical supplies to Concord Hospital and to the Concord Police and Fire Departments, including naso-pharyngeal swab kits, N95 respirators, surgical masks, disposable gowns, and liquid sanitizer concentrate.

Sarah Boylan, who knows Kou from her dorm and also coaches her on the SPS softball team, says she was both surprised and touched by the student’s gesture. Boylan, too, responded with a kind action, sending the masks she received from Kou to her aunt, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

“It was really meaningful to me that my aunt would receive the masks from one of my students,” says Boylan. “Dolan’s energy is infectious, and she is one of the most genuinely caring students I have encountered in my time teaching. We are so lucky to have her as part of our SPS community.”