Jessica Gahtan

When Jessica Gahtan (BBA ’16) realized her friends in the medical field were worried about shortages of basic personal protective equipment (PPE), she decided to use her business background to help.

“The accounting and operations management courses that I took at Schulich have proven invaluable,” Jessica said. “This really highlights something my dad (also a Schulich alum) has always told me: you never know when having business acumen will come in handy!”

Jessica and her team used 3D printers to produce face shields and masks to distribute to clinics and hospitals in need of supplies. Their model is so successful it has already been replicated by groups across Canada.

“We developed a contact-free system that allowed us to engage hundreds of community members,” Jessica said. “We have also innovated designs and products to enhance healthcare professionals’ safety.”

The team has raised over $30,000 through crowd funding and various grants, not including the thousands of dollars in supplies donated by companies. To learn more, please visit https://ppekingston.squarespace.com.

“We’re all genuinely hopeful that the PPE shortage will be resolved and there will no longer be a need for our efforts,” Jessica said. “Regardless of what happens, we will all carry the lessons we’ve learned from this project forward with us in our careers. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience.”