Beavers Beautify Campus and Beyond, Serve Others in 108th Buenafication Day

April 28, 2021

Dr. Chad Cardani-Trollinger, a 1996 Buena Vista University graduate, returned to BVU on Thursday for the 108th edition of the University’s celebration of service: Buenafication Day.

Hundreds of students joined staff, faculty, and other BVU alumni in blanketing campus and beyond, picking up sticks, shoveling mulch, painting, parading, and more, accounting for 2,457 hours of volunteer service, resulting in an economic impact estimated at $61,207.

“I took some time to circle the lake this morning, and I loved seeing Beavers in service all the way around the lake,” said Cardani-Trollinger, who joined President Brian Lenzmeier in delivering the opening message for students, faculty, and staff who assembled at J. Leslie Rollins Stadium.

“I kept thinking about my own BVU journey and how it helped me understand what giving is and why it matters. We all have the ability to make the world a better place.”

Chad Cardani-Trollinger '96

“I had a prepared speech, but it took me 30 seconds to go off script,” said Cardani-Trollinger, an Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies at Iowa State University. “I kept thinking about my own BVU journey and how it helped me understand what giving is and why it matters. We all have the ability to make the world a better place.”

Alondra Melendez, a BVU junior who is part of the Buenafication Day planning committee, invited Cardani-Trollinger to speak at the event. She would later ask him to join Education for Service Scholars, among others, in assembling some 3,000 toothbrush kits for those in need, one of multiple service efforts that took place within Siebens Forum on Thursday afternoon.

Those sessions followed the work an army of Beavers accomplished throughout the morning across Storm Lake and into parts of Buena Vista County. Hundreds of students worked to spruce up the landscape along Storm Lake’s lakeshore and throughout five public parks that dominate the northern lakeshore. Prior to enjoying a picnic lunch served by Sodexo, BVU student-led organizations, sports teams, and campus departments completed a task, or a variety of tasks, as coordinated by Tawney Schreier, Program Manager for BVU’s Office of Community Engagement, and Erica Swanson, BVU Assistant Director of Campus Activities & Leadership.

Brandy Ripke, BVU Coordinator of Admissions Processing, glanced up while painting a metal guard post on campus, to describe how she and her coworkers made cards for residents of Otsego Place in Storm Lake, an activity followed by a “happiness parade” to entertain those residents.

Freshmen Laura Bunge and Nathan Reusch joined members of the BVU esports team and the Anime Gaming Society, in playing video games for 24 hours straight while raising more than $300 for Upper Des Moines Opportunity, Inc., in Storm Lake.

Another BVU freshman, Seiger Canney, gathered video and still photos from campus to King’s Pointe as his peers added mulch to trees and swept refuse from the lakeshore.

Brandon Foster, a junior, kept his shovel moving as his soccer coaches and teammates moved mulch. Foster observed Buenafication Day in a day of service in his hometown, Waycross, Ga., one year ago as campus was closed due to COVID-19. He joined his girlfriend in 2020 picking up roadside litter before making cards for nursing home residents.

On Thursday, he was happy to be with his teammates in Sunset Park, as the Buenafication Day tradition continued.

“It’s a lot more of a team effort this year. I’m glad to be back on campus,” Foster said.

According to Lenzmeier, who helped paint in Chautauqua Park, any day can be a Buenafication Day, a notion echoed by Cardani-Trollinger, who teaches a class called “The Science of Happiness” at Iowa State, a mood he witnessed in full bloom on Thursday as givers spread cheer with their good works.

“Each day, you have the ability to make a difference in someone’s life,” he said.