Service Learning is a large part of the curriculum at Sage, with every student across all four grade levels being required to partake in a Service Learning project. This school year, Sage has introduced new members to the community, freshmen, transfers, and new faculty.

One of the new faculty members, Tanya Lerch, math teacher,  also brought with her a very interesting idea for Service Learning: the prosthetic hand project. Using 3D printers, which are machines through the process of additive manufacturing are able to create three dimensional objects through successive layers of material. This allows for people to cheaply create parts.

The prosthetic hand project all started back in New York. “So two years ago, when I was at my old school in New York and we have a 3D printer and we are using it to make little trinkets so I looked for something more socially useful, so I went to a professional development where I learned about the E-nable foundation and that’s the foundation that does the hands. So we were one of the first schools that piloted the program, and we made three hands for three kids. One of the kids came in person, and ABC News filmed it, which helped to get it more publicity and now they got a bunch of money,” Lerch said.

Now the E-nable foundation which helps to create prosthetics for animals and people has expanded to hundreds of partners. Now that this project has come to Sage, it presents students with an inclination towards more STEM related service projects. Already students in the Service Learning group have been matched up with recipients.

Now students are busy designing, and printing out hands for their recipients. “I am really excited to work with the kids in robotics, they have much more experience than previous students of mine, and they are much more experienced with the engineering process, cad, and being able to make more complex things. Im also excited to work with the animal prosthetics,” Lerch said while talking about the future of the program.