Juggling for pure joy

One student on campus shares his unique talent

Imagine knives and torches whipping through the air only to be caught for a quick second before being flung back out.

Well, for Luke Edington, Ferris junior in plastics engineering and technology, this is not such a crazy occurrence.

This resident advisor from Clark Hall started juggling back in eighth grade. He was at a tennis match when one of the parents taught him a basic three-ball cascade. After that, he bought “Juggling for the Complete Klutz” and has not stopped since.

“I have always thought it was a cool talent. I’ve always loved juggling, even before eighth grade,” Edington said.

Jeremy Heinrich, Ferris sophomore in nuclear medicine technology, said, “I think it’s the coolest thing in the world. I love weird talents. It’s out of the ordinary.”

For his junior year in high school talent show, Edington juggled knives. The following year he was the MC for his senior year talent show and wowed the audience when he juggled torches.

Despite the amazing entertainment, one moment that has stood out for Edington was when he visited Navy Pier in the eighth grade. He put a hat down and made $3.76. He decided that day that this was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

Cirque du Soleil was one of his main inspirations. The other is his girlfriend’s dad, who happens to be a professional clown.

“It became a competition to see who could do the better trick. I would say we pushed each other. He’s better, by the way,” Edington said.

A lot of people are unaware of Edington’s talent. However, he is known around campus. Edington is prayer chair for homecoming and mascot coordinator for Brutus.

He encourages all students interested in juggling to pursue it.

“For those that want to get into it, pick up a ball and watch it hit the ground and get used to it because it’s going to happen a lot more often. YouTube is a great resource. Don’t be afraid to drop and pick [the ball] back up,” Edington said.