Ivan Wilson ’25 directs his PLU experience toward the film industry
Image: Ivan Wilson, Art Director for the student run creative agency Impact, poses for his senior spotlight portrait, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, outside the AUC at PLU. (PLU Photo / Sy Bean)
By Britt Board
Assistant Director of Communication
“We do it the way the film industry does it,” says senior Ivan Wilson ’25, co-director of a student film collective at PLU called Rose Window Studios. Under his leadership, the group has grown steadily, producing original short films and giving students hands-on experience in film production.
Between directing, leading workshops, designing marketing materials, and managing student teams, Ivan is not just building a résumé — he’s building a portfolio and a creative brand.
PLU as a Creative Playground
For Wilson, a studio arts major with minors in communication and French, campus is a creative playground and a place to grow as a leader. He’s the art director at Impact, PLU’s student-run marketing agency, and the creative director of Rose Window Studios. He recently helped produce fundraising videos for PLU and designed event stickers for a campus farmer’s market.
Impact’s staff advisor, Simon Sung, said of Ivan: “He has played a big role in Impact, using his video and design skills to help elevate the team’s content and services for the campus community. He brings fresh ideas to every project and knows how to turn creative vision into something polished.”
But Ivan’s true passion is film. Rose Window Studios has produced four original films and regularly hosts campus premieres and workshops. They don’t take client work — instead, they focus entirely on original storytelling. “We’re trying to train people who can take on more leadership responsibilities,” he says. “We hold workshops, assign roles, and run sets like real productions.” As an added bonus, students get course credit for joining.
Their latest project, “Press Enter to Print,” premiered at The Grand Cinema on May 13. The imaginative short follows a woman who discovers her office computer can turn anything she types into reality. “We brainstormed the idea as a group — one of our group members, Emilie Denis, came up with the concept and first script,” he says. Bringing it to life took many hands and a lot of coordination, plus hard skills that Ivan and others will take forward into future projects.
A Foot in the (Studio) Door
Wilson’s passion for film isn’t limited to campus. Last summer, he taught filmmaking to middle and high school students in the Shoreline School District, building teaching experience and connections in Seattle’s creative scene. He’s also no stranger to the hustle, “Right now, I’m balancing both my director roles, finishing classes early, hiring my Impact replacement, and handling the marketing for the ‘Press Enter to Print’ premiere,” he says.
His long-term goal? “To be an Art Director in the film industry, hopefully somewhere in Washington, Oregon, or Vancouver. I want to make other people’s stories come to life, from the inception to the page to the screen.”
Finding Creative Freedom
Wilson’s PLU journey didn’t start in the art studio, but rather in music. He started at PLU with a vocal performance scholarship and participated in Choir of the West, Chorale, and Knights Chorus before realizing music wasn’t his calling. “It didn’t breathe life into me,” he says. “Art did, but I was scared to major in it. Not because I thought it was cringe, but because I respected it too much.”
Encouraged by supportive parents, and inspired by strong mentorship from PLU faculty and staff like Junichi Tsuneoka, Heather Mathews, and Simon Sung, Ivan changed course. “I’ve had real conversations with faculty about my goals, and they’ve given me actual feedback. That’s crazy and cool, and I’m using it to inform my work.”
Storyboarding his Future
When asked what his plans were post-graduation, he joked, “Four acres of land and retirement.” We took his meaning; after all this work before even stepping into a career, he probably needs a break. But the truth is that Ivan is casting a wide net, applying for jobs in videography and creative direction. “Creative industries can be obtuse and complicated,” he says, “but there are holes — places people haven’t touched yet. If you can find that niche, you can find the perfect job.”