Most teachers give assignments. But few give assignments like the one Joe Buro gives his students: he asks them to help save his life.
Buro has been a CAD instructor at Staten Island Technical High School, one of the top STEM high schools in New York State, since 2014—and has won multiple awards for his work in the classroom. Every year, Buro and his co-teacher Katie Geraghty help hundreds of high school students earn professional certifications in Autodesk Fusion, AutoCAD, Revit, and 3ds Max—with most achieving at least one by graduation.
In 2019, Buro’s life took an unexpected turn when doctors discovered a large tumor growing in the bone of his skull, likely the result of cranial radiation he had received to overcome leukemia as a child. After having the tumor surgically removed and custom prosthetics implanted in his skull, Buro eventually returned to the classroom. But his 3D CAD and Biomechanical Engineering class was never the same.
Before the surgery, Buro had given students a standard 3D model of a cat skull and asked them to design and make implants for it. After, he started giving them a 3D model of his own skull for the same purpose. He calls the curriculum Fix Me.
“They know right away—by just doing a 15-minute 3D print—whether or not they’re going to be able to save my life,” Buro says.
For his students, the project becomes more than a technical exercise. It’s a powerful reminder that great design goes beyond function—it’s deeply personal, profoundly human, and can make healing possible.
Let there be resilience. Let there be learning. Let there be anything.
