Student designs trading pin for group serving at World Series

When staff and students from Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Le Jeune Chef Restaurant catered daily meals for the teams participating in the 2023 Little League Baseball World Series, they had an extra token to share: trading pins designed by Penn College graphic design student Brock R. Hower, of Montoursville.

Pin trading at the Little League World Series is a long-standing tradition among spectators, with a tent set aside at the Little League International complex, where the series is played, to accommodate the activity. A local hotel also offers space for pin traders to interact during the series.

Hower and other graphic design students at the college were tasked with creating a pin that combined elements of Little League with Le Jeune Chef.

“One of the hardest parts of this design was that I had to incorporate all of the text that is currently on the pin, come up with a cohesive design that showed a mix of both baseball and cooking and do that all within the 1.5-inch diameter of the pin,” Hower explained. “I really had to start with a lot of sketches to come up with a design where I could comfortably fit all the elements that were required.”

Hower and his classmates submitted their designs to Brian D. Walton, assistant dean of business and hospitality, and Sue A. Kelley, dean of business, arts and sciences, who joined Le Jeune Chef staff in selecting a final pin design.

“The college and I settled on my idea of combining the cooking pot and the flaming baseball,” Hower said. “This concept was able to integrate some of the basic components to cooking – fire and water – while also displaying a flaming baseball, which demonstrates the energy of the sport and its supportive fan base. The pin also features a complimentary blue and orange color scheme that helps tie it all together and give the design a bright pop of color and energy.”

Hower, now a senior in the graphic design program, was a junior when he created the design. The college produced just enough pins to share with the teams.

Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, a casual fine-dining restaurant on the Penn College campus, is operated by the college’s School of Business, Arts & Sciences. Open to the public, it is a live-learning lab for students in the college’s hospitality majors. For the past three years, the restaurant has provided meals to Little League Baseball World Series players and coaches in the team dining hall at Little League International.

To learn more about the graphic design and hospitality majors at Penn College, call 570-327-4521.

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free at 800-367-9222.