Grant Gassiot arrived on the U of I campus back in 2018 and felt right at home. Since then he's made it his mission to help others settle in and find their place in the Vandal Family.

Grant graduates in a few weeks with his bachelor’s degree in architecture. In the meantime, he’s staying plenty busy as a campus tour guide. U of I’s daily visits have set records every month this year, and March was the busiest month on record, with more than 300 prospective students and nearly 800 total guests. And that doesn’t include the hundreds of students who attended UIdaho Bound – our orientation sessions for admitted students.

Grant shares with prospective students his experience finding lifelong friends in his fraternity and working with faculty on engaging projects. He leads students up Hello Walk and shows them a dorm room in Theophilus Tower. It’s an unlikely role for Grant, who started his college career at Chico State in California, studying biological engineering.

“I wanted to transfer to a school for architecture and I came here and found a friendly campus community right away,” Grant said.

The campus visits team aims to help students visualize themselves at the U of I, and to help them discover the array of academic and extracurricular opportunities on campus. Since a brief shutdown at the onset of the pandemic, campus visits have steadily gained momentum and surpassed pre-pandemic numbers.

Enrollment trends seem to be following that uptick. Freshman enrollment increased more than 16% in the fall of 2021. This spring, applications are up 34% and admissions are up 18% compared to the same time last year. UIdaho Bound also brings students each month throughout the spring and summer to help our newest Vandals prepare for their college careers. More than 420 students are registered for Saturday’s UIdaho Bound event.

“Campus visits, our recruitment staff and the collaboration of the entire campus during UIdaho Bound, as well as our communications throughout the year help turn our admitted students into enrolled students,” said Danae Nagle, assistant director of campus visits.

The night before a recent tour, Grant was up until 2 a.m. working on his senior architecture project – a Habitat for Humanity design competition. But he brought energy and smiles the next morning to greet visiting students. His energy is authentic. Grant plans to stay in Moscow for the summer and remain a Vandal for graduate school.

“When I first came here, I didn’t know anyone in Idaho, but I’ve made friends that will be in my wedding someday.” Grant said. “I want to help the students that come visit find their own community here.”

UI junior earns Goldwater Scholarship: Zhenhao “Victor” Zhong, a junior double majoring in biochemistry, and molecular biology and biotechnology, will receive the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Zhong was selected from more than 5,000 applicants and will receive up to $7,500 to pay for tuition, fees, books and room and board.

Grad students create consumer workshop on beef quality: College of Agricultural and Life Sciences graduate students Sierra Jepsen, Brooklyn Epperson, Jessie Van Buren and Mikayla Heimbuch are offering a fun and creative class to educate consumers about different meat cuts and meat preparations. The group is developing a learning module so that others can teach the workshop.

Mesplay, Keller land Critical Language Scholarships: Senior Natalie Mesplay is headed to Korea and junior Brock Keller will study in India after they earned Critical Language Scholarships to study foreign languages through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The CLS scholars will spend eight to 10 weeks studying in their respective countries and are expected to apply their critical language skills in future careers.