Thinking about getting involved with the Lassonde Institute or living at Lassonde Studios? If all the resources and living options aren’t enough, listen to what some current and past students have to say about the programs and residential spaces:
Aidan Daoussis (Entrepreneurship)
“It’s such an inspiring area for entrepreneurs, and that’s exactly what I want to do. I could not let this slide by and look back and say, ‘Aw I woulda, I shoulda, I coulda, why didn’t I?’ I had to [move in], because I didn’t want this to get by me.”
“The success of my company has been pretty amazing, to see it grow so fast and rapidly, and it’s just not stopping. [My company] is just going to keep growing and growing, and I have this building to thank, really.”
Gus Osimitz (Operations Management)
“The connections I’ve made are really valuable. The workshops have had pretty powerful people come in [to speak] … and I can send them an email and say ‘hey, I was at this thing that you guys presented at Lassonde, I would love to get an internship over the summer, are you guys looking for interns?’”
“[Lassonde Studios] is really convenient, you’re right in the center of campus.”
Logan Erickson (EAE: Pre-Film and Media Arts, pictured)
“I love that sense of community that Lassonde provides. I love the energy, I love the people, and I think what excites me most is that people here are driven. They are very focused on what they want to do; they know that this is the time to make things count. People here find their work so much fun, so they put their time into really becoming masters of their crafts, professions or knowledge bases.”
“I owe a lot to Lassonde for helping me make connections. I think this is a wonderful place to network. I’ve met a variety of other students that I’ve started working on projects with. I’ve made some really [great friends], most likely that will become business partners and lifelong connections, and I think that would not have happened if I had not been put in this environment. That’s the beauty of living in these communities, being able to connect with the people around you in a much more professional — and friendship-based sense where the way the building is laid out that people just naturally bump into each other.”
“[Lassonde] puts on all of these incredible speakers, all the time, that you would never [otherwise meet] – these are people that would literally talk at CES or GDC or big conferences, right here to talk to us and available for questions. They want to get to know us. That right there is so incredible. An experience like that, you don’t find that anywhere else.”
“It’s a wonderful place to test the games I develop. If I was just living at a normal house, that would not be happening. I mean, that’s the beauty of being able to live with these 399 wonderful people is that they’re willing to try it, they are excited about it, they’re curious, and I’m just able to be like, “here let’s play this” and then get feedback on it. Maybe the greatest resource here is the people. I’m about the standpoint from ideas, from knowledgebase, from skills, from talents, but also from the standpoint that they can give you positive feedback in a review process to whatever you’re doing.”
Liz Morales (Ethnic Studies and Communications)
“I think Lassonde is the very first program that made me think, where do I see myself in 50 years? In 10 years, in 25 years? I don’t want to be that person that sits at a desk job or ends up thinking that “oh, I didn’t do the right major, I have to go back.” Lassonde helped me find my passion, which was helping others. And it’s okay if my passion changes. Lassonde made me not just grow in self-esteem and self-worth, but really in purpose and in life.”
Parker Andriese (Entrepreneurship)
“The concept of being surrounded by, literally living with, driven and hungry like-minded individuals to feed and grow off each other’s energy, and excitement, and accomplishments, just freaking blew me out of the park.”
“You do not have to be an entrepreneur or a business owner that has clientele or income to live in this space or to utilize what Lassonde has to offer. The Institute is looking for hungry, driven, passionate individuals from whatever medium it may be, whatever passion you may have, to come get involved and magnify that and develop it and grow it and partner with other individuals that have similar interests to help excel you further.”
Annie Connolly (Modern Dance)
“It’s so cool that this is where I live. I feel like my community cares about me.”
“Lassonde is pushing us to discuss things and be part of something. I think it is very rare, and I think that most people don’t know where to turn for something like that. [Lassonde is] a space where we can talk about real-world ideas and real-world happenings.”
“Lassonde is all about opportunity and it’s so cool to see everyone take advantage of that. I’ve been able to see a lot of girls going for it. That’s not something that anyone should be surprised by, by no means, but it’s really refreshing, because I think there is this image of a businessman in suit and seeing all the girls that are here that are just going for it and working so hard and really breaking into the business of everything – not just business, there’s engineers – but I think it’s really refreshing to see a lot of female faces.”
Tri Nguyen (Masters of EAE Game Development and Design)
“If you don’t know anyone, just walk literally anywhere in the building and say hi. People here are so friendly and they want to hang out. Even when it gets busy, there are still people in the common areas.”
