By: Ben Leschensky
Pacific Lutheran University is now identifiable anywhere in the Pacific Northwest thanks to some new vans.
PLU recently bought new 12-passenger vans for the Recreations Department which will primarily be used by Outdoor Rec and club teams on campus as they travel around the Pacific Northwest.
While PLU may have its own vans now, it wasn’t always that way. Rob Thompson, Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation, said Outdoor Rec and club teams used to rent vans from the rental company Enterprise. The vans were in high demand and many student groups utilized them, so when talks turned to the potentially buying new vans, they made financial and logical sense. Thompson credits last year’s Outdoor Rec directors for spearheading the movement to purchase vans specific to the club.
The vans have already been used within the Recreations department and on Outdoor Rec trips this fall and demand for them is very high. Thompson is appreciative of President Belton and the University’s Capital Improvements Committee for the support of the rec programs, saying the vans have “really made an amazing impact to our department.”
Part of what makes these new vans unique is the PLU-themed design that encompasses the entire exterior of the vehicles.
MarCom was the driving force behind getting the vans decked out in the black and gold. Simon Sung, Executive Creative Director at MarCom, said the design process involved working with the recreations department, designing the wraps and coordinating production with the vendor. This included transporting the vans, setting a production schedule and arranging a field trip consisting of The Mast, ASPLU, COMA 361 and Impact students to tour the facility where the vans wraps were being assembled.
The Seattle-based company SuperGraphics was responsible for wrapping the vans. PLU alumni Zac Thorpe works with SuperGraphics, and Sung said he gave the students on the field trip a full access tour to the design and production studios.
Senior Colton Walter was the primary designer of the new wraps, and spent months coming up with different concepts and design ideas for the new vans. At one point, Walter said he had around 50 different design cutouts pass his desk as he searched for the best overall design.
“It’s cool PLU trusted me to complete the design,” said Walter. “I am thankful and happy that I had support and that PLU trusted me with something they can use for years to come.”
The new vans will see lots of use in the coming years, and there is hope they will help strengthen support for PLU and rec programs. Thompson hopes students will see these vans and be reminded to come explore the PNW with Outdoor Rec, and Sung sees the vans as mobile billboards that will help market PLU beyond the Lute dome.
