Elliot Lydon

2065 County Road T | Marshall, WI | 53559

+1 (608) 957-5229 | [email protected]

Education

Sun Prairie East High School

Sun Prairie, WI

Graduation Year: 2024 

GPA: 3.98 unweighted

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Intended Majors: Computer Engineering and Music Education

Expected Graduation: 2028

Honors/Awards

        Recipient of the Marcia Berman Summer Percussion Scholarship (2024)

        Honorable Mention Piano Solo at Essentially Ellington (2023)

        National Merit Scholarship Finalist (2023)

Member, National Honor Society, (2022, 2023)

Sun Prairie East High School Academic Award Recipient (2022)

Recipient of the Jeff Bogosh Summer Jazz Camp Scholarship (2022)

University of Wisconsin Eau Claire High School Honor Band Member (2022)

National Bands Association Statewide High School Honor Band Member (2019)

Sun Prairie Middle School Honor Band Member (2018, 2019)

Extracurricular Activities (High School)

Piano Player, Sun Prairie Jazz Ensemble, Sun Prairie High School, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

• School's premier jazz ensemble
• One of fifteen bands nationwide to be accepted to perform at the Essentially Ellington High School Level Jazz Competition in 2023
• One of five returning members in a group of sixteen and the only one in their third year. This unique position has enabled me to assume a significant leadership role within the ensemble, inspiring everyone to uphold the group's tradition of excellence
• This group has been one of the most influential experiences of my recent life, furthering my musical abilities and maturing my personality with traits such as leadership, dedication, teamwork, and creativity

Percussion Player, Sound of Sun Prairie, Sun Prairie Marching Band, 2022, 2023, 2024

• During the rigorous five-week season, we have rehearsals nearly every day from 9 am to 9 pm
• Team collaboration through long hours of practice
• The group is a DCI Soundsport Member, and we have won many of the regional competitions associated with this status
• Only senior member of the drumline in 2024, and thus was a de-facto student leader throughout the summer season

        Piano Player and Leader, Student Jazz Combo, 2022, 2023, 2024

• Fully student organized and run jazz combo
• One of six members since 2022, and assumed the role of leader in 2023 when the previous leader graduated
• Coordinated rehearsals, setlists, gigs, performances, etc.
• Performed at various local venues, including restaurants, farmers markets, and talent shows.

        Arranger and Leader, Student Led Percussion Ensemble, 2024

• Wrote an arrangement of several songs from the video game Minecraft for a 7-piece percussion ensemble
• Coordinated membership, rehearsals, attendance, instrumentation, and performance
• Successfully led the group to learn and perform the piece over the span of 3 months
• Managed conflict between group members and worked one-on-one with members who needed assistance learning parts

Member, Environment Club, Sun Prairie High School, 2023, 2024

• Self-organized group of students passionate about the care and preservation of the natural environment around us
• We often organize fundraisers, awareness campaigns, and plan events to benefit the cause we all care about so much

Extracurricular Activities (University)

        Grafana Subteam Lead - Northwestern Solar Car Team, 2024

• Leader of a small team responsible for displaying large amounts of data in real time
• Integrated Grafana with AWS services and created extensive documentation

Work Experience

Summer internship, Kula Investments, 2022

• Duties included using Python, NumPy, and MatLab to aid in the creation of a data-driven algorithmic stock/asset trading system

Server and various roles, Sugar River Pizza Sun Prairie, 2023 - ongoing

• Duties include serving tables, operating takeout counters, taking orders/payments, making salads, operating ovens, janitorial duties, and more 

        Customer Service Representative, Concerts @ Bienen, 2024 - ongoing

• Duties include answering phones, selling tickets, managing room reservations, and maintaining professional interactions with all patrons.

Hobbies/Interests

Programming and working with computers

• Work on personal projects either for fun or learning, but occasionally contribute to open source software as well
• I am proficient in Python, Javascript, Rust, Java, and C#, and am working on learning C and C++
• I also know quite a bit about backend server development, and consider myself well-versed with tools such as NGINX and MySQL
• Additionally, I enjoy working with hardware, and recently built a computer from scratch