Knee deep in love

When Linnea Olson came down to her top-two college choices, one was near her hometown of Rochester, Minn. Another was across the country in the Pacific Northwest.

So, she decided to surprise herself and do something different. She came out west to PLU.

Linnea has always loved the outdoors and considers Minnesota one of the more beautiful places she’s been. But when she came to the Pacific Northwest, it was like nothing she imagined. She loves the trees. She loves the mountains. She really loves the saltwater of nearby Puget Sound.

The rain? She’s working on it. (Even so, it never keeps her from doing whatever she wants to do.)

Overall, the experience has been even better than she expected.

“One of the things I love about the Pacific Northwest is how people take advantage of outdoors,” she says. “It is different here – people are able to bike, paddle and hike all year round. They really appreciate the beauty that surrounds them, and they take advantage of that. It’s contagious. It makes others, like me, love it even more.”

– Story by Steve Hansen