Carlyle Skelton - When I am Done, I Only Wish to have Contributed to the Cherished Memories of Children Worldwide
- mcouzin2
- Mar 14
- 2 min read
Hi Carlyle!How did you get involved in the Young Inventor Challenge 10 years ago?
When I was around 10 years old, my parents decided to take my siblings and me to Chicago for vacation. Being from Georgia, this was a huge deal and my parents told us to make an itinerary of things we would like to do. Of course, the top of my list was immediately the Museum of Science and Industry, and anything after that was whatever else my siblings wanted to do. But then my mom brought up the Chicago Toy and Game Fair and that was my new top priority.
We were a couple of months out from our big trip, so my mom encouraged me to enter into the Young Inventor Challenge. I decided to look at the past competition on my iPod and immediately got to thinking about what I could do that would “wow” the competition and amuse myself. I figured kids were already so glued to their devices that it would be good to combine toys and iPhones to create a new experience. Therefore, I made (out of playdough) a digital pet that used the iPhone/iPod as a face. I’m pretty sure something like that has long existed by now, but man, I should have gotten that patented.
Why did you choose the Savannah College of Art and Design, and what is it like?
Honestly, I just looked up “nearby art schools” and that was it. SCAD, just like most colleges, is a tool–it is what you make of it. SCAD is equipped with some incredibly seasoned and talented artists, but they aren’t going out of their way to help you–you have to make yourself known to your professors. Once you do that, there are some incredible insights to be found that you can’t get anywhere else. I have had some very strict and very lenient professors at SCAD, and both of which have been helpful to me in their own ways. The professors at SCAD are willing to go the extra mile for you once they know you’re serious. I have had some professors sit and walk me through entire programs into the night because I couldn’t understand them. I’m writing like this because I naively assumed during my freshman year that professors were going to approach me and give me advice without prompting. No, you need to know what questions to ask to get the answers you need, y’know?
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