It’s 9:00 p.m. on a Thursday, and Alyssa Kragelund sinks into her oversized bean bag in her Resident Assistant dorm room in Grand Hall on the campus of Buena Vista University. The feeling of relief spreads across her face, but only temporarily. With papers scattered around her, she chuckles and promises that this isn’t the normal state of her living space. At this point in the day, a lot of students are winding down by watching Netflix or playing video games after classes and homework, Kragelund’s day continues to forge on, her time for homework has just begun after a long day of classes and meetings.

The papers scattered around her range from assignments to job applications to Alpha Psi Omega (APO) projects, a group in which she is the president of, to Senior Class Campaign work, for which she is one of the chairpersons.

“The only time I get a break is when I force myself to take one,” Kragelund says with a chuckle.

Tonight, there will be no breaks.

Kragelund, a finalist for Buena Vista University’s (BVU) Senior of the Year Award, says she would not give up anything that she’s been involved in during college, which is a lengthy list, because it has all helped shape her into the person and leader she’s become.

On top of being a business major, president of APO, and a chairperson on the Senior Class Campaign, Kragelund is a leader in alumni engagement through Phonathon, she’s in BVU’s choir and band, as well as actively involved in her church’s worship team.

She throws her hands up and smiles knowingly as she tries to answer how she does it all.

“Yeah, I’m busy, and to an extent, we all are because we’re in college, but I love everything that I’m involved in, and that makes it worth it, even on the tough days,” says Kragelund. “As a senior I feel like it’s my responsibility to help underclassmen become leaders, so that’s why I’ve changed how I lead this year.”

Getting to this point as a leader seemed inevitable for Kragelund, who asserted herself right away on campus as an involved student, being involved in the BVU theatre production Into the Woods, as well as receiving Honor Band accolades for her clarinet skills throughout her time at BVU.

As she has progressed through the past three and a half years, Kragelund has gotten heavily involved, performing in the BVU choir’s on-campus opera productions, the acapella group and BVU’s concert and jazz bands. Outside of performing, Kragelund has interned in various places across the Midwest, as well as become the president of APO, a title she still holds. This past year, Kragelund got engaged to sophomore Corgan Petersen and also assumed the role of chairperson for the Senior Class Campaign this spring. To say that her past four years have been busy would be an understatement.

“Obviously some days are harder than others to get everything done, but overall, I wouldn’t change how the past four years went down,” says Kragelund. “I have met a lot of great people, made some lifelong friends, and done a lot of really great things, and that makes me really happy.”

The idea behind the project for the Senior Class Campaign stemmed from what Kragelund, and her fellow chairpersons, seniors Sarah Mackey and Jacob Braddock, have set out to accomplish during their four years here on campus—lead and leave a legacy.

The campaign, entitled “Be a Piece of Something New,” has the goal of raising $2500 for what the team has named, the Senior Campaign Award. The award is designed to be given to students at BVU who have shown dedication to leadership and involvement, which is an aspect that Kragelund believes makes BVU so special.

“I’ve had so many opportunities to do so many different things while at BV, and I think that sort of engagement on campus shouldn’t go unnoticed, which is why we decided on this project for the senior class to donate to,” she says.

Petersen, her fiancée, shakes his head when he thinks about all Kragelund has done and continues to do as a student at BVU.

“Honestly, I have no idea how she does it all,” he says. “She’s so involved, from her RA duties, to getting ready to graduate, it’s really impressive. But most of all, the thing that is most amazing, is the fact that she still makes time for the people that are important in her life.”

The Mario Kart game night Kragelund invited a few friends over on Friday night shows just that. Through her bleary eyes, Kragelund dropped banana peels and green shells, while sharing laughs with her friends.

This delicate balance of involvement, academic success, and thriving social life makes it quite obvious why Kragelund is also a Senior of the Year Finalist this year. Kragelund, humble in nature, tries to deflect questions about being a finalist.

“It really is a great honor to be a finalist. To be recognized by both faculty and peers as a leader is really humbling, and it’s a great group of finalists, and I’m happy to be a part of that,” she says.

While Kragelund’s goal with the Senior Class Campaign is to leave a legacy, she recognizes that there is still work to be done before graduation.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the class campaign turns out, and to really soak in these last couple of months of my senior year, because, while I am excited about graduating and life after graduation, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss this place.”

Petersen agrees.

“Yeah, I might be little biased, but I know I’m going to miss her, and this whole place is going to miss her as well,” he says.