Jerry Reed, 18, has longboarded since he was in eighth grade.
While attending Youth & Opportunity United’s after-school program in Evanston, Reed was challenged to build anything using $250. Incorporating passion into his project, he decided to make a light-up longboard, he said.
Reed got to work in Y.O.U.’s MakerSpace, a facility for students to tinker with technology. It includes a sound booth, laser cutter, 3D printers, audio-visual equipment, computers and digital software.
Using wire cutters and screwdrivers, Reed took the white lights used for the underside of countertops and added them to the bottom of his skateboard. After his first model broke, Reed said he wasn’t discouraged and continued to make modifications, –– starting with colored lights.
Y.O.U., which provides programming to Evanston and Skokie youth, built its MakerSpace to allow…