The students • In their own words
This page is theirs. So is the club.
Every quote below comes from recorded interviews with YTC students at ETHS in fall 2025. No adult wrote these. That's the point.
"People were really shy at first, but now you can see improvement. Inside the club, change is good."— Chris · ETHS
"We take our time. If someone doesn't understand something, we go over it again. It feels good because no one is judging."— Julia · ETHS
"Being consistent matters. I've learned that change is good when you let yourself grow."— Lilly · ETHS
"Here people expect something from you. Not pressure — responsibility. And that makes you want to show up."— Arvin · ETHS
"Outside people think it's just a club. Inside you see it's work. We fix things, we explain things, we try to do things right."— Renaya · ETHS
"People learn from each other. You see someone struggling, you help. That's how the club works."— Meed · ETHS
"It feels more serious than other spaces, but also more relaxed. People help each other and it makes everything go smoother."— Dexter · ETHS
"When people talk, when they ask questions or explain something, it feels like everyone is part of it. Nobody is alone."— Julia · ETHS
"It's like the club has generations. Leaders change, but the idea stays. The president is the president because people trust them to keep things going."— Furqaan · ETHS
"The club is fun and kind of non-professional, but inside it is professional."
— Chris, ETHS. Fun on the surface, real work underneath — that's the room.
What ETHS students have built
Not hypothetical. Done.
A track record, at home and beyond — built by students who learned a skill and turned around to use it.
In Evanston & beyond
- Computer labs for seniors at Blake Manor and Primm Towers, with monthly student-led tech lessons
- Machines donated to homeless shelters, community centers, and small businesses in need
- Six students sent to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to launch two new YTC clubs — 40+ computers processed, labs set up in a school and a church
- A technology pilot with the Evanston Haitian Congress to bring computers to Haitian schools
- Mentoring Fifth Ward middle-schoolers in STEM projects and at summer tech camp
- Student leaders at the annual YTC Camp in Troy, Missouri
The craft
- A Microsoft Registered Refurbisher — students rebuild real machines to real standards
- Competing in the Titanium Tech competition against clubs from Chicago, Cicero, and Mexico
- Arduino robotics — building and coding, then teaching the curriculum to the next class
- Teaching peers in Ethiopia, Namibia, and Mozambique — the African Initiative, since 2009 (the Global story →)
Current members
Your classroom is here.
Sign in to your YTC Google Classroom to pick up lessons, projects, and materials.
↑ drop the Google Classroom link in here
There's a seat with your name on it.
Come once. Bring a friend or don't. Nobody will ask what you're into — they'll ask what you want to build.
Come check it out