UB staff member’s costumes spread joy on campus

It’s a unicorn? An astronaut? An octopus?

It’s Ona Strang, student affairs coordinator in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a True Blue ambassador who is committed to bringing joy to those around her.

“What I love most is the unexpected smiles I get,” Strang says. “To me, being a True Blue ambassador is bringing joy and doing something fun and unexpected during your average workday, class or study time.”

Since the spring semester, Strang has been donning one of her nearly three dozen inflatable costumes on a weekly basis, parading around campus events or through the academic spaces, playing music and handing out small trinkets. Her choices in costume are both random and coordinated to holidays and special days.

On “May the Fourth” she says she dressed as BB-8, a Star Wars droid, and passed out Star Wars-themed stickers. In April, she wore a sun costume during the North Campus eclipse-viewing event.

As a member of the SEAS student affairs team since January 2023, Strang’s job is to engage with students, and she’s finding the costumes are a good way to promote some of these interactions.

“Many students want to take pictures with me, to help them remember the joy they felt and to share with their friends all the different characters,” Strang says. “I want to be where the students are and love bringing smiles.”

Strang started her collection during the pandemic while working at an elementary school. She says friends came to her house dressed as dinosaurs for a socially distanced birthday parade, and from there she was hooked.

Of all her costumes, the unicorn is her favorite. Unlike the others, it’s stored in her Bonner Hall office, always ready to go. She says everyone loves the unicorn, too, because the mythical creature is supposed to bring joy and good luck.

“I just love unicorns,” she says, “because they’re magical and they’re mystical.”