The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute announced the recipients of two annual student leadership awards for the 2024-25 academic year, during a recent award ceremony. The Love Every Minute of Your Life — Kylie B. Park Artist Award was awarded to Emma Koa, and the Three S Student Leadership Award was awarded to Sadie Bowen.
“It is a real privilege to work with students who are dedicated to supporting and improving the Lassonde community,” said Scott Holley, the new executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. “These awards are a way to acknowledge the positive impact of their work.”
During the award ceremony, Holley also announced he was personally sponsoring two new alumni-funded scholarships: the Troy D’Ambrosio Builder Scholarship and the Jack Brittain Vision Scholarship, to be awarded to students next fall who embody their legacy of leadership and vision. D’Ambrosio is the foundering executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, and Brittain was the dean of the David Eccles School of Business when the institute began.
The Love Every Minute of Your Life — Kylie B. Park Artist Award is an annual award established in memory of University of Utah student Kylie Park to support and recognize the work of creative, artistic students in the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute community. Park shared her passion and brought joy to many by creating inspirational art on the whiteboards throughout Lassonde Studios. Her final art creation can be found printed on one of the walls in the lobby.
Emma Koa (pictured) received the Love Every Minute of Your Life — Kylie B. Park Artist Award for the 2024-25 academic year.
Emma Koa is a strategic communications student and resident of Lassonde Studios. Through social media, whiteboard drawings, and articles she has been able to share other people’s stories and experiences at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute.
“Lassonde has contributed to my artistic aspirations by giving me ways to create community through art and videos that help me explore different artistic techniques and ways to engage students. I have a goal of helping people feel included through the work I do,” Koa said.
“Receiving this award was very validating to the work I have done to try and help Lassonde thrive and allow people to be connected,” she added. “To be recognized in memory of Kylie, who had also spread joy through Lassonde, felt very impactful. Thank you to the Park family for your generous donation and for sharing stories about Kylie. Your words gave me a glimpse into who she was and the impact she made.”
The Three S Student Leadership Award was created through the vision and generosity of Jack Brittain, a Lassonde faculty chair and former dean of the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business. He established the award in honor of alumni Stuart Fetzer, Seth Shaner and Scott Holley, the first student leaders of the programs that formed the basis for the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute.
Sadie Bowen has been a student leader at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute since her freshman year. She currently serves as the chair of the Make program and will be continuing in that role for the following academic year.
“Through being a student leader, I’ve met some of my favorite people and learned invaluable skills,” Bowen said. “I’ve gained some ‘hard’ skills, but mostly soft skills like task and time management, delegation, and public speaking.”
She added, “This award means so much to me. It makes me feel like I’m making an impact, which is the single most important thing to me in my career (and life in general). It’s also a reminder that Lassonde is a wonderful place because of the emphasis it puts on the impact of student leaders.”
Learn more about leadership opportunities at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute website here: https://lassonde.utah.edu/leadership.
