The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute welcomed L6, the sixth group of student residents at Lassonde Studios, for the 2021-22 academic year earlier in August. This diverse group will “live, create, launch” together in this unique building for student entrepreneurs and innovators at the University of Utah.
All students at the U are welcome at Lassonde Studios, which has events and innovation space for all students on the first floor. Only 400 are selected to live on the upper floors each year after a competitive application process. Residents are known as the “Lassonde 400.”
“This is one of our most exciting and diverse groups of residents ever, and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish this year and beyond,” said Troy D’Ambrosio, executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and an assistant dean at the David Eccles School of Business. “Every year, we are impressed by the quality of students at Lassonde Studios, and this group is already off to a great start.”
Here are facts about the L6 Residents:
- 409 residents (including the student residential advisors)
- 62 majors
- 37 U.S. states represented
- Top US states represented are Utah (192 residents), California (79), Washington (14), Illinois (12), Colorado (11) Idaho (10), Nevada (9), Texas (7), Oregon (6), Arizona (6), and Florida (5)
- 12 countries represented
- Top countries of origin are the U.S. (396 residents), Hong Kong (2), China (2), Canada (1), Trinidad and Tobago (1), Nigeria (1), Congo (1), Netherlands (1), Kenya (1) Thailand (1), South Korea (1), and Vietnam (1)
- 237 first year students, 112 second year, 39 third year, 18 fourth and 3 graduate students
Residents are studying many of the subjects offered at the University of Utah. A few of the most popular majors among L6 residents are computer science, entrepreneurship, finance, games, and marketing. Many students are also undeclared and chose Lassonde Studios as a good place to figure out who they want to become.
Liliane “Lily” Chisolm is one of the L6 residents. A Salt Lake City native, she is a freshman and wants to study kinesiology or environmental and sustainability studies.
“I like living at Lassonde because of the amount of creativity you see on a daily basis,” Chisolm said. “No matter what floor, room, or group you are in there is always an inspiration. I hope to learn about topics that interest me, and allow me to connect ideas together – also to figure out more of a life plan, as I learn more about the world and how it all works.”
Houston Brackett is another L6 resident and freshman from Missouri. He plans to study business.
“The thing that stands out at Lassonde is undoubtedly the community, from the start we have had an awesome community of support within our cluster and throughout the entire building,” Brackett said. “I hope to come out of my first year at Lassonde with many relationships and a great start to my next steps in life whether that be in school or in my future endeavors. I am super excited to see where the year takes me.”
Grace Osusky is a senior and L6 resident from Moab. This is her fourth year living at Lassonde Studios. Her majors are communication and anthropology.
“The people are really what make Lassonde Studios,” Osusky said. “Sure, the building location is convenient when there are 5 feet of snow on the ground, but the memories I’ve made during the last three years are really quite special and will always have a place in my heart.”
Lassonde Studios has been featured by publications from around the world, including The New York Times and Fast Company, and it was named by Architectural Digest as one of the nine best university buildings in the world. Visitors have come from around the world to learn about the building and entrepreneur programs managed inside.
The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute has received about three times the applications as there are bedrooms every year since it opened in fall 2016.
The application to live at Lassonde Studios for 2022-23 will open on Oct. 1, 2021, and the priority deadline is Jan. 15, 2022.
Learn more about Lassonde Studios and apply to live here at lassonde.utah.edu/studios.
