Conor McGill is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Xavier College Prep for AZPreps365.com

When Kaori Robertson’s parents walked into a Bashas store on the Navajo reservation in July, they had no idea they were setting in motion their daughter’s desire to bring touchless hand-washing stations to the Navajo people.

Robertson, a volleyball player at Xavier College Prep, always has maintained her connection with the Navajo Nation even though her family moved to Phoenix when she was five years old.

“I have a lot of extended family up at the Navajo Nation,” Robertson said. “Just seeing my people on the news, not in a very good light, I knew I had to do something to help out.”

So, Robertson was moved to action after hearing about her parents’ trip to Bashas. They were looking for a construction site for her father’s construction company, and when they stopped in the grocery store they saw a sign that required customers to wash their hands upon entry.

When they got back home, Robertson asked what their experience had been like. Her parents told her that customers in Bashas had to touch the sink handles to turn on the water.

That got Kaori thinking: There had to be a way to stop the cross-contamination that occurred when people touched the handles.

“Just watching how the pandemic affected my people really touched and pushed me to think on a personal level what I could do to help out others in my community,” Robertson said. “When my parents came back and explained to me the areas of cross-contamination at the store, I looked at what I could do to help prevent that. From that moment I took my ideas to the drawing board.”

When first drawing up her ideas Robertson thought back to a camping trip where she had come across a sink area where she only had to use a foot pedal to wash her hands. From there she looked to replicate the sink area she came across, which would come with a $119.26 price tag per hand washing station. That’s when Robertson turned to her parents who directed her to the platform GoFundMe. 

In a short matter of time, Robertson was able to raise $3,000, enough money to buy 20 touchless hand-washing stations that were donated to businesses across the Navajo reservation.

“Before we knew it we were getting handwashing stations delivered every day it seemed like,” Robertson’s mother Jolene Robertson said. “It’s been nice seeing her idea come to life and how it has helped prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Navajo Nation.”

Now roughly three months from the start of Robertson’s initial project she plans to deliver another 21 touchless hand-washing stations within the next few weeks after receiving additional funds from a second GoFundMe fundraiser and donations from family members and others. 

Meanwhile, on the court Robertson has proven to be a leader, recently committing to the University of Arizona to continue her volleyball playing career. Heading into the playoffs Robertson has put up 317 digs, 298 receptions, 76 serving points, and 11 assists alone this season.  

“Kaori is a high character kid,” Xavier volleyball head coach Lamar Bryant said. “She leads by example and has been a blessing to have these past four years.” 

As the team heads into the playoffs Robertson hopes to make the best of her remaining time on the team. 

“I’m taking one step at a time and taking everything in for the last time,” Robertson said. “It’s been nice seeing everything going in a good direction for myself and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for my team heading into playoffs.”