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Evan Sepe ’20 Lends a Hand

When it came time for Evan Sepe, a sophomore at Xaverian, to propose an Eagle Scout project, he knew that he wanted to literally give someone a hand. 

Evan had heard from a former teacher at his alma mater, Blessed Sacrament School, that there is a movement to create prosthetic hands using 3D printers. He pursued the idea and, with connections made from Natick to India and help from the community, Evan assembled six hands (three left and three right) for people in need using a design from e-Nable.

e-Nable is a global, open source online community where people donate their ideas and their time to design, improve, and distribute prosthetic hands to those in need. Visitors to the site can purchase a hand design that is ready to print via a 3D printer. The remaining pieces needed for assembly are available in a kit for $25 each. Not having a 3D printer of his own and unsure of how to locate someone in need of a prosthetic, Evan began researching, making connections, and asking for help.

From the e-Nable site, he found Dr. Chris Craft, who works with students in South Carolina to distribute hands via, “the Hand Challenge,” a project he launched with one of his classes. Evan also found out that the Morse Institute at the Natick Community Library has a 3D printer, and the staff there was willing to donate the materials and the time it takes to print the parts. With the kits from e-Nable, the connection to people in need of a prosthetic from Dr. Craft, and the parts being printed at the Morse Institute, all that was left for Evan to do was to assemble the pieces and ship out the hands. As it turns out, assembly isn’t all that simple. “The hands were a little harder than we anticipated to assemble, but everyone was good about it and we all got it done,” said Evan. He and fellow Boy Scout volunteers worked together to build the hands and string together the movement mechanisms. Once fully assembled, Evan shipped the hands to Dr. Craft, who delivered them to six recipients in India.

With his Eagle Scout project completed, one might think Evan would stop there. He didn’t. He came to school and talked to Jim Conley, Director of Campus Ministry, about continuing the work here at Xaverian. This spring, students volunteered to help Evan assemble three more hands, once again using parts printed off-campus and distributed through Dr. Craft. What’s next? Evan looks forward to expanding the project in-house now that the school has its own 3D printer, thanks to a generous donation by Peter Perez ’15.

“For me, this project is a great way to link these two communities together,” Evan said. He’s referring to the Boy Scouts and Xaverian. Evan noted that there are a lot of similarities between the two organizations. Both provide leadership and opportunities to try new things, and both allow for mentorship between students. He added, “Also the communities — the community through the Scouts and the community through Xaverian — are both very tight. We all look out for each other.” With this project, Evan is helping these two local communities look out for and lend a hand to people throughout the world.
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Xaverian is a Catholic, college-preparatory school for boys in grades 7-12. As an inclusive community, we embrace diverse experiences and perspectives, welcoming students and families from all faiths and backgrounds. Through exceptional academics, athletics, the arts, faith formation, and service opportunities, we help young men discover their unique gifts and talents so they can share them with a world in need.