By Ainsley Weems | MSU Communication Student Class of 2026
The PAYETTE OpenLAB cohort is a small group of architecture students selected to participate in the OpenLAB Boston Studio, an immersive, semester-long academic and professional experience run by PAYETTE in partnership with Virginia Tech School of Architecture. Over the course of a semester, students will spend their time in Boston, MA, integrate into PAYETTE’s office, working side-by-side with architects, mentors and designers in a real firm environment, and take three integrated courses to expand their knowledge and apply it to real-world practices.
Students from Mississippi State, Virginia Tech and Hampton were accepted to participate this fall. The three students from MSU are third-year architecture students Tess Higginbotham, John Sasser and Miles Williams.
The President/CEO of PAYETTE, Kevin Sullivan, said that these students’ portfolios, “were very solid and they will fit right in.”
“We are excited to have your students join us next year,” Sullivan said in his email to School of Architecture Professor and Interim Director Jassen Callender.