Lamar fellowship winner combines technology, music to help nonprofits

John Ellis, a senior computer information science major at Lamar University, was recently announced as the university’s 2017 Presidential Summer Fellowship winner.

Ellis has found a unique way of using the award to give back to his university and community.

“With the Presidential Fellowship funding my project, I’ll be able to create a unique unification of the arts, technology, and management,” he said. “This will not only make me more skilled for my future career, but I’ll also have some insight into how to benefit similar organizations in and outside our area.”

Ellis plans to use the $10,000 summer research award to combine his talent in technology and his passion for music by researching information technologies that nonprofit organizations use to sponsor drum and bugle corps programs and then create an IT model that nonprofits and small businesses will be able to use in the future.

“What I hope to make is a model for anyone interested in starting a nonprofit or small business can use,” Ellis said. “When I finalize the model, I’ll give it to the Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship on campus, where it can be made available to anyone.”