2025 Makeathon
Date: October 24 - 26, 2025
About
This year, we hosted over 175 participants, including Makers, Need Knowers, and Team Leads, at our 8th annual Makeathon. We had 13 teams working throughout the weekend to prototype solutions for their Need Knowers. We also hosted Vanderbilt’s Chancellor Diermeier and the Hustler!
The weekend culminated in a showcase where each team was able to present about the work they completed. Read more about the 2025 Makeathon projects below!
Projects
Team 1 - Robby
Team Lead: Kalyn Day
Robby, a Vandy alum and returner from the 2023 and 2024 Makeathons, was in a car accident in 2022 that left him with a C4/C5 spinal cord injury. He has little movement below his mid-shoulders. He works remotely full-time, and if he’s on a meeting in his bedroom, he doesn’t have an easy way of closing and locking the door independently. Robby needed an automated way of opening, closing, locking, and unlocking his bedroom door.
Building off of last year’s work, Team 1 prototyped an Amazon Alexa-automated door controller. Its documentation can be found here: Automatic Door Control Documentation.
Team 2 - Liam
Team Lead: Chloe Park
Liam, a returner from the 2023 and 2024 Makeathons, is a 10-year-old with Kleefstra syndrome. Liam has hypotonia and gets tired easily. His family needed an affordable stroller/wheelchair that could support Liam when he needs to sit during outings. Additionally, Liam needed a tablet holder for his school desk as well as a grab bar for his Galileo Vibration Machine.
Team 2 modified a collapsible wheelchair to include a cup holder and storage bags with Buc-ees decorations – one of Liam’s favorite characters! They also 3D printed a stand for his AAC device and created a height-adjustable bar Liam can use during physical therapy. The wheelchair documentation can be found here: Collapsible Wheelchair Documentation. The AAC stand can be found here: Tablet Stand Documentation. Lastly, the Galileo grab bar documentation can be found here: Galileo Bar Documentation.
Team 3 - Chase
Team Lead: Shannon Gordon
Chase is a 9-year-old with severe autism. He has a tendency to take off his clothes and elope, and his parents needed a sensory-friendly way to secure his Jiobit GPS tracker to him. Additionally, Chase enjoys rocking and wanted a form of a tilted axis chair to provide vestibular stimulation.
Team 3 created a sensory-friendly bracelet to hold Chase’s GPS device, keeping him safe and comfortable. Team 3 also built a tilted axis chair, using a yoga ball as the base, which allows for gentle rocking to provide vestibular stimulation. The tilted axis chair documentation can be found here: Tilted Axis Chair Documentation.
Team 4 - Miyako
Team Lead: Kanani Silva
Miyako, a returner from the 2024 Makeathon, is a 9-year-old with muscular dystrophy that affects her mobility. She recently had surgery to place flexible rods in her back and fuse her neck. She is able to sit up straight but can’t rotate her head. Miyako needed a child-sized shower chair to give her more independence and balance. She also wanted an adjustable easel to complete her homework.
Team 4 created a child-sized shower chair with a backing, arm rests, and a caddy that Miyako can use to shower more independently. They also designed an adjustable, magnetic easel that can adjust angularly and vertically so that Miyako can be more comfortable when she does her homework.
Team 5 - Hadley Jo
Team Lead: Maya Miller
Hadley Jo is an 11-year-old with a rare hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (Type 6B). She uses a wheelchair but was not able to enjoy water activities due to her wheelchair’s electronics. Hadley Jo needed a waterproof wheelchair so that she could enjoy splashpads without being carried. Additionally, Hadley Jo’s family needed a custom wheelchair lift to help her get in and out of the car as she grows.
Team 5 built a custom lightweight wheelchair (in her favorite color!) so that Hadley Jo can enjoy the water for longer. Team 5 also prototyped a wheelchair lift using an electric drill and carjack. The splashpad wheelchair documentation can be found here: Splashpad Wheelchair Documentation.
Team 6 - Zander
Team Lead: Hailey Jane Frank
Zander is a 6-year-old with cerebral cortex damage resulting from a car accident that impacts his cognitive and physical abilities. He loves bright lights and making people laugh. Zander wanted a chair he could sit in independently, a device to help him learn to crawl, and a table that is compatible with his Testa chair.
Team 6 designed a corner chair to allow Zander to sit without support, a light-up scooter so that he could push himself across the floor, and a table to hold his eye-gaze device so that he can learn to communicate from his Testa chair. The corner seat documentation can be found here: Corner Seat Documentation.
Team 7 - Alaina
Team Lead: Rylan Hunt
Alaina is 22 years old and has cerebral palsy and autism. She communicates using an AAC tablet. One of her favorite activities is horseback riding, but she cannot use her AAC device while riding. Alaina needed a saddle-attached mount that her tablet can be placed on as well as a tablet shader so that the bright light doesn’t interfere with Alaina’s ability to see her device.
Team 7 designed a removable and adjustable tablet mount that securely attaches to a horse saddle, allowing Alaina to use her AAC comfortably while on horseback. Team 7 also found a compatible tablet shader to further support Alaina’s communication and independence during riding sessions. The saddle mount documentation can be found here: AAC Saddle Mount Documentation. The tablet shader documentation can be found here: Tablet Shader Documentation.
Team 8 - Colton
Team Lead: Olivia Bisesi
Colton is a 5-year-old with quadruple cerebral palsy and dystonia. He cannot sit up on his own, so he uses a P-Pod chair during most activities during the day. Colton needed an activity table that is the correct height for his P-Pod chair. He also wanted a switch-adapted toy for play time.
Team 8 created a custom adjustable table for Colton’s P-Pod chair, allowing him to eat, play with toys, and engage in activities comfortably and independently. The team also switch-adapted a talking zebra toy that Colton could play with.
Team 9 - Mila
Team Lead: Isabella Blauzdys
Mila is a 22-month-old with cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus. She uses a medical stroller to support her posture. Mila has a twin sister, Maizy, who also needs a stroller. Mila and Maizy’s mom needed a solution so that she doesn’t have to push two strollers or use a double stroller that can’t support Mila. Mila’s parents also wanted a Toddler Mobility Trainer, one of TOM Global’s products, to help build strength in Mila’s arms.
Team 9 built a detachable front extension that securely attaches to Mila’s medical stroller and provides a safe, comfortable seat for Maizy. This solution allows the twins to be easily and safely transported together. Team 9 also put together a Toddler Mobility Trainer with custom side and head supports so that Mila can begin exploring independent mobility.
Team 10 - Chizenum
Team Lead: Ella Provancher
Chizenum is 23 years old and is minimally verbal. Her mom encourages her to use an AAC device, but she gets easily frustrated with all of the options. When she is ill, she won’t communicate, causing her to become angry and aggressive. Her mom is also concerned that Chizenum wouldn’t be able to contact her family if she got lost. Chizenum needed a simplified app to make communication easier.
Team 10 designed a simplified iPad app that functions like an AAC device but features fewer, more personalized options tailored to Chizenum’s daily routines and favorite things (restaurants, TV shows, etc.). Team 10 also created a bracelet that can be tapped with an iPhone to display her parent’s contact information and a link to the communication app in case Chizenum becomes separated from her parents in public.
Team 11 - Stella
Team Lead: Elizabeth Walther
Stella is an 8-year-old with spina bifida. She loves meeting new people and exploring new places. Stella needed a tray table for her wheelchair so that she could eat lunch at school more easily. Additionally, when Stella goes on hikes, she cannot transfer into her all-terrain wheelchair independently. Her parents wanted a custom step that Stella could remove once she’s in her all-terrain wheelchair.
Team 11 created a collapsible tray table for Stella’s wheelchair that she could use for lunch time at school and for playing with toys at home. Team 11 also created a step that Stella could independently attach and detach so that she could transfer from the ground into her all-terrain wheelchair independently. The tray table documentation can be found here: KiRogue Tray Documentation. The all-terrain wheelchair step documentation can be found here: All-Terrain Wheelchair Step Documentation.
Team 12 - Wyatt
Team Lead: Isabella Murano
Wyatt is a 10-year-old with a complex medical history. He struggles with poor dexterity and low energy, making typical tasks much harder for him. Wyatt’s mom wanted a range of devices to support his dexterity and independence.
Team 12 created a large set of custom devices for Wyatt. They made silicone-molded grips to help him hold a toothbrush and pencil, leg guides to help him put on socks, a storage bag for his push chair, protective shower glasses for his sensory needs, and some fun 3D-printed fidget toys.
Team 13 - Chandler
Team Lead: Victor Dunagan
Chandler, a 2018 Vandy alum, became paralyzed from the waist down after a shooting in 2024. He has very little core strength and cannot lift his chest up. Chandler wanted a long gardening tool so that he could weed and cut plants while sitting up in his chair. He also needed a fold-away table that he could add to his wheelchair. Chandler served as both a Need Knower and a Maker during the Makeathon!
Team 13 adapted a set of tools to allow Chandler to do gardening work and pick items up from the comfort of his wheelchair. The team also prototyped a modular desk space for Chandler’s wheelchair that would allow him to work on a range of projects.
