Rolling into school in a dark blue van, Ross Whelan ’13 parks his unusual ride amongst a sea of cars in the junior parking lot. As he jingles his keys and walks into school, the top of his RV can be seen above all other cars, large or small, parked around him.

Whelan inherited the “the van,” a nickname that has quickly spread throughout Staples, from his father, who drove the same car when he was a teenager.

“It’s a great car and it’s not like anybody else has it,” Whelan said. “It can seat all my friends and it’s fun to drive around.”

Lucky enough to proudly to display a Junior Parking sticker on his dashboard, Whelan also hangs plush dice from his rearview mirror.

“I gave him the dice as a present,” said Megan O’Shea ’13. “I thought it would be a funny accessory for the car and he’s hung them up ever since.”

Whelan, who received his license early in his junior year, always knew the van would one day be his.

“My parents and I had always talked about me driving it and my younger brother will probably get it once I graduate,” he said. “But I’ll look forward to driving it when I come home from college.”

Although Whelan is a proud owner of this iconic car, the “awful” gas mileage, along with the challenges of driving the large vehicle on narrow roads and the daunting task of parking, makes him occasionally hesitant to put the pedal to the metal.

His friends, however, see no downfalls to the joy rides they get.

“We love getting rides from Ross,” Alex Brown ’13 said. “They’re always a good time.”

Whelan has secured a spot in the elite club of Staples’ most unique rides. His van has granted him somewhat of celebrity status amongst any student who has spotted the RV in the parking lot, regardless of whether or not they posess a driver’s license.

“I definitely see the RV at school daily,” Lily Barsanti ’14 said. “I always witness people asking how he drives it.”