Mission Griz Pins Build on Student Experience

Here at UM, we have so much to celebrate. Between all of the campus traditions and events each semester, our students get the full experience of University campus life. 

And now UM students are getting an added bonus when they attend University gatherings: Mission Griz Pins. These themed pins have been a hit with students and keep them coming back for more. 

A New UM Tradition

Just ask Nicole Lessley, a business major and resident assistant in Aber Hall. Nicole first heard about the pins when she took her residents to the Freshman Float, an annual gathering of first-year students who float down the Clark Fork River near campus at the close of New Student Orientation. 

The Freshman Float was the first event to hand out a Mission Griz Pins. The pin featured a cartoon bear with sunglasses lounging in an innertube — of course. 

For Nicole, the pins are important because they physically show students their involvement on campus and create lasting memories and friendships. “Having these pins shows those memories and it is a fun souvenir as well,” she says. 

Jenny Petty, UM’s vice president of marketing and communication, agrees. She sees the pins as a new campus tradition and something that will remind students of their time at UM. 

Students also receive a felt pennant they can hang in their rooms and add pins to throughout the year. Students have told us the pins even remind them of the kind visitors can collect at Disney locations. 

Many times, UM staff have overheard students call themselves “avid pin collectors” and gush over the designs saying “oh it’s so cute.” And if a student misses an event, they reach out afterward to still get a pin. 

“It’s been exciting to see how students have reacted to the pins,” Jenny explains. “Each pin reflects either an event or a rite of passage on campus.”

Mission Griz Pins: Uniquely UM

The pins are designed by UM’s graphic designers and each one is unique. They run the gamut of being fun and whimsical to more traditional. For example, the Homecoming pin has a blast of color around the Griz logo, while the Convocation pin features UM’s academic seal to signify the beginning of students’ academic journey.

These pins are not only given out at big events on campus. They also are given out by each residence hall and for special programming like the upcoming N7 basketball games, the Foresters’ Ball and Late-Night Karaoke.  

So far this semester, students have received pins for the Freshman Float, Convocation, Homecoming, DiverseU and Stress Less, among other campus celebrations. Several campus events have seen an increase in attendance due to the pins. 

Like so many of their classmates, Nicole and her residents in Aber Hall keep a look out for the pins at various events. 

“My residents have loved the pins and so have I,” Nicole says. “We always look and see what events are giving away pins.”