Shared from the WISD Facebook page:

When the City of Hudson Oaks kicked off their COHOHO event last Friday night, they honored WISD student Stuart Rodgers during the opening ceremonies. Stuart is a student in The Access Program (TAP), formerly known as the Vocational Training Class. A couple of years ago, he began creating a holiday light show for his family’s home. You’ve probably seen a holiday light show where Christmas lights are set to blink on and off in beat with the music being played. For Stuart Rodgers, these light shows are his passion.

Stuart’s teacher Kari Reed said, “He talked a lot about the process of programming a holiday light show at school, so I knew he had a high interest in this technology.” Ms. Reed also knew that the City of Hudson Oaks holds a community holiday light display each year. Wanting to support Stuart’s interest, Ms. Reed contacted the City of Hudson Oaks and connected with Maria Skrut, Community Development Manager. Together they planned a field trip for TAP students.

Originally, the field trip was planned as an in-person event but because of COVID-19 restrictions and precautions, the field trip transitioned to a virtual setting. That change didn’t dampen Stuart’s excitement. The virtual field trip was filled with information about the software used to create light shows, programming, and all of those behind-the-scenes details that make holiday light shows possible.The City of Hudson Oaks immediately began working with Stuart for this year’s COHOHO event. Each week this holiday season, he is programming the light show for one of the featured songs, giving him the opportunity to use his programming knowledge and showcase his creativity in a community setting.
We are so proud of Stuart Rodgers and so thankful to Ms. Reed and the City of Hudson Oaks for making this opportunity possible!The COHOHO light display runs every night through the end of December with new themes each week. For more information about COHOHO, visit their website at COHO Events.