Brothers Evan and Parker Frye have a penchant for creativity and the former Dexter students have talents that have recently landed them on a national stage.
The brothers were students in Dexter Community Schools from 2007-2014 which launched younger brother Parker’s keen interest in science and how it may be applied to daily life. The family lived in Huron Farms and their house was one that was hit hard by the 2012 tornado. In order to be closer to their careers, the Fryes packed up a couple of years later and moved to Green Oak Township. Evan is now a freshman at EMU and Parker is a freshman at South Lyon High School.
Parker is driven to invent. He has done a number of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and invention contests. As a student at Wylie here in Dexter, Parker developed his passion and drive to create new things. As a Dexter student, he won first place in the events he entered.
Just last year, the young innovator used his creative skills to win a national rubber band invention contest. His winning entry was a peculiar looking figurine of no particular significance, but once the room is darkened, with a light upon it, the little rubber band figure projects a shadow of Lady Liberty. Clever.
One characteristic of a successful inventor is persistence and patience. Parker has both. He has submitted ideas for the Fallonventions segment of the Tonight Show. While the family received many phone calls about the inventions, none ever made it to the studio. Last year he entered the nationwide Dreamvention contest sponsored by Frito-Lay, and again there was a call, but no prize.
This year Parker has entered the Frito-Lay contest again, but with a different strategy. Collaborating with brother Evan and mom Jennifer, the trio have entered the family version of the contest to come up with Sole Riders – wheels that can be attached to shoes for an easier pedestrian commute.
Like most kids, 14-year-old Parker Frye was tired of walking the half mile to and from the bus stop every day. To solve this problem, without taking up too much space in his backpack, he quickly came up with the Sole Riders, a specially designed shoe that comes with buckle-on attachments to speed up his daily walk. The whole family got onboard with the idea. Jennifer added ideas for attachments like a mop, to help keep the house clean, and Parker’s big brother Evan helped with the design and graphics for the Dreamvention submission.
Evan has been diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and school has been a challenge. But this past year, he has experienced great success working in graphic art and computer-generated music composition. The contest has been a rewarding way for him to contribute his talents.
They can use our help with the contest.
Parker and his family are 1 of 5 finalists, the only ones from Michigan. The Dreamvention winner will be determined by online voting at http://www.mydreamvention.com. Voting ends on January 6, 2019. People can vote every day between now and then, on every device and browser available.
Much appreciation also goes out to Dexter Community Schools for providing the means by which a young person’s interests and talents may be explored, developed and expressed, launching them forward into their own contribution as a citizen.
Good luck Parker, Evan, and Jennifer!
