Zach Maggia and Clay Dobbins, both 2019 Gibbs College graduates now working full-time at TAP Architecture, have partnered with AIA Oklahoma, Bishop McGuinness STEM students, Positive Tomorrows and TAP Architecture to provide Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) Oklahoma first responders with ear savers to wear with their protective masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3D printed ear saver. Image credit: Zach Magia
The idea, which originally came from Ian and Hailey McDermid, owners of The Pump and The Bunker Club in Oklahoma City, was to create ear savers for EMSA Oklahoma first responders to wear during the pandemic. Maggia and Dobbins got involved with the project when their boss at TAP, Anthony McDermid, mentioned that his son, Ian, knew someone at EMSA that needed ear savers and asked if they could help.
EMSA Facebook post. Image credit: Zach Magia
The ear savers move the point of contact for medical masks from behind the ear to the back of the head, so instead of the elastic resting behind the ear, it has hooks that transfer the strain and make masks more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. The team has completed approximately 250 ear savers for EMSA so far, with a goal of providing 600.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
