When Kelly Lotsu-Morgan learned he was named Kansas Technology Student of the Year by FlagshipKansas.Tech, he could hardly believe it.
“I was completely mind-blown,” Lotsu-Morgan said. “I did not expect it.”
Lotsu-Morgan, a computer science major at Newman University, was nominated for the statewide honor by the CEO of Wichita-based technology company SpectrumWare. At first, he didn’t think much of it.
“I didn’t take it very seriously because I’m like, it’s a whole Kansas thing. There’s no way I stand a chance,” he said.
A month later, he received a phone call saying he had been selected. He was recognized alongside other technology leaders in Kansas during the FlagshipKansas.Tech’s Ad Astra Summit on June 4 in Wichita.
“I was smiling, I was kind of crying. It was just a lot of emotions,” Lotsu-Morgan said. “I was amazed. I was stunned. I was shocked. I felt like, ‘Why me?’ I felt like surely there has to be other people. It can’t be me.”
The award recognizes students who are making an impact in technology across Kansas, but Lotsu-Morgan’s journey to that moment began years earlier and thousands of miles away.
A journey shaped by perseverance
Lotsu-Morgan graduated from high school in Ghana in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic changed his plans. After being accepted to a university in New Jersey, his student visa was denied.
“It was very painful because we had spent a lot of money on everything, and none of it was refundable,” he said. “A lot of very hard things just happened, making me feel like, ‘Gosh, what’s happening? Why me?'”
Instead of giving up, Lotsu-Morgan stayed focused. He enrolled in a computer science program in Ghana, worked as a math, SAT and GRE tutor, and spent his free time teaching himself programming.
“I started learning programming actually during COVID,” he said. “I started building little things.”
Then came another unexpected opportunity.
One of Lotsu-Morgan’s students shared his story with an uncle living in the United States, who offered to help him apply to American universities again. The plan was to attend a school in Philadelphia, but a simple mix-up changed everything.
Lotsu-Morgan accidentally applied to Newman University in Wichita instead of Neumann University in Pennsylvania. By the time they realized the mistake, Lotsu-Morgan had already earned a full-tuition scholarship.
“I have gone through way too many obstacles to give up here,” he said. “I’m going.”
Looking back, Lotsu-Morgan sees those challenges differently.
“At this point I look back, and it’s all just smiles,” he said. “I guess it was all part of the plot.”
Finding opportunities to lead at Newman
Once he arrived at Newman, Lotsu-Morgan found more than a place to study computer science. He found opportunities to lead.
He founded the Newman Coding Club after noticing students didn’t have many chances to connect outside of class.
“We had a great computer science program, but not a computer science community,” Lotsu-Morgan said. “The best way to grow in computer science is to meet more people and learn how they do things and how they solve problems.”
Lotsu-Morgan also became the team lead for Newman’s AI engineering team and worked on projects across campus. He believes Newman’s size allowed him to make a bigger impact.
“The fact that it’s a small school… it’s easy to take on leadership roles. It’s easy to just start things,” he said. “It’s so much easier to make an impact here.”
Those experiences helped shape the path that led to his Technology Student of the Year award.
“I would not have remotely any of these opportunities if I was at MIT or Georgia Tech,” Lotsu-Morgan said. “The size of Newman just made it easier.”
Recognition beyond the award
While Lotsu-Morgan says the award is exciting, what it means to him goes beyond the recognition itself.
“It just adds external validation,” he said. “The fact that the nomination came from outside the school… it just makes me feel like I’m probably doing something right.”
He hopes the award reminds him to keep moving forward.
“It just makes me feel like I should probably keep going,” Lotsu-Morgan said. “I have to be doing something right, so just keep it up and just keep pursuing my goals.”
From overcoming setbacks in Ghana to earning one of Kansas’ top student technology honors, Lotsu-Morgan’s journey has been anything but ordinary. While he never expected to receive the award, he believes every challenge helped lead him to where he is today.
Earn your computer science degree at Newman University
The computer science program at Newman University provides a robust foundation of technical and analytical skills, opening doors to a wide array of in-demand, high-paying and innovative careers in a constantly evolving global landscape.
