Holly Elliott is a retired software engineer. She worked for a range of companies from the defense industry, to the telecom industry, and even train dynamics analysis. Her early career involved working with the newly deployed satellites now used to provide GPS service around the globe. She worked in the telecom industry and saw the rise of cell phones and their amazing capabilities. Her father had a degree in metallurgical engineering and always encouraged her interest in science and engineering. He had an interesting career which included leading a team that welded the rocket cones for the Apollo missions. Some of these cones are on display at NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Holly is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Software Engineering. There, she was occasionally the only female in her engineering classes. She knows first hand that importance of diversity in engineering, and wants to encourage more women to enter the field. This scholarship is one way to help out.
Chris Tracy is a retired Software Engineer and Software Architect. Over his career he formed numerous teams responsible for development of HVAC Systems, first generation HDTV chips, satellite box chips, USB-C chips, learning calculator software, and systems for numerous analog components. Your mother is wrong, you can make a living watching TV all day.
The most important difference in the engineering teams from the days of his first employment to his retirement was the increased diversity, and therefore increased strength of the modern teams. Working with so many math and science teachers in a STEM/STEAM environment certainly demonstrated the importance of supporting engineers during the education phase.
With the Elliott/Tracy (Ellacy) family belief in diversity and the importance of opportunity for all, we are pleased to endow the Ellacy Family Scholarship in 2024.