A group of Travis Good’s closest friends came together to relive memories and share in their remorse.

The apartment’s living room was lit with a lamp that had been specially brought in. Normally, the LED lights that Travis Good had created lit the room from their spot in the corners of the ceiling and helped keep electric bills at a minimum.

The presence of Travis Good was evident throughout the space; his neon paintings and abstract iron art pieces that decorated the walls, the pieces of his freeline skates that had been recovered after being run over by a CyRide bus, the pong table he’d built which leaned against the wall and featured running water and custom lighting and the somber, yet ecstatic attitude emanating from those that came to discuss and reminisce the sudden, devastating loss of their friend.

TJ Good was someone that a large number of ISU students knew, whether they realize it or not. Often, he could be identified by a description of what he was wearing or what he was doing. He might be known as the guy seen freelining across campus in ridiculous outfits, pretending to fall or maybe even juggling apples; possibly as the guy that would occasionally dress in all pink and then go out for the night with his friends or even as the guy that would terrorize people with his RC planes that he would fly over soccer fields, through tennis games or through a V of passing birds.

From his ridiculously eccentric binder covers, some of which featured squirrels, rainbows and unicorns, to the colored resumes he created that he took to interviews and the movie star signature he’d perfected by the end of his freshman year and could even write backwards, one point that was often raised was the fact that Good was a person who expressed himself in everything that he did.

“I remember, when we were freshmen, he would spend whole classes, just paper after paper, practicing his signature, and he had to perfect it by the end of freshman year, and it’s been the same ever since,” said Katie Gierut, senior in civil engineering.

He was the same person in class that he was outside, always drawing pictures of random things and having a fondness for passing notes.

He famously put 110 percent of his effort into everything that he did, which was something that his professors would comment on, saying things like “you don’t have to do a rendering at 5 p.m. with the perfect sun shadow,” and he would always add a personal touch to his assignments, whether it was a shrimp in the bottom corner of his master project or a family of deer running through some trees that he added to his design of a building. He was a perfect combination of talent, intellect, comedy and kindness, according to his friend Rachel Franz, junior in civil engineering.

“TJ was the kind of person that, whatever he put himself to, he was going to do it and he was going to excel at it better than anybody else; everything from his hobbies to his schoolwork, to his relationships with other people, you knew TJ, not just as someone, but his personality and him everywhere,” said Martin Konsor, senior in finance and Good’s roommate of 4 years.

Good would commonly joke about being a “perfect male specimen,” according to his friends. He never had glasses or braces, he was in shape and he would always brag that he never got sick. None of his friends could ever recall seeing him sick in the years they’d spent with him, until the fateful day that bacterial meningitis claimed his life at the age of 22.

Even in his sickly condition, Good found a way to bring his personality into his stay in the emergency room. He wasn’t as extravagantly funny as he was normally, but he was humorous in the way he said things. He was asked if he had a personal doctor, to which he replied no, that he had a family doctor, but that he had never seen him. When he started having breathing problems, he nonchalantly said “I’m havin’ trouble breathin’.” At one point in the time spent in the emergency room, he told the doctor “I’m really not concerned,” to which his doctor responded “Well, we’re very concerned.”

Bryce Rasmussen, Good’s roommate who took him to the emergency room, was one of the first to learn of his death, and served as the informant to the rest of his friends. An announcement was made in civil engineering classes that Good had died, which his friends appreciated, as it alleviated the burden of telling people that noticed his absence. A former roommate that was studying abroad in Rome for the semester called Konsor at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning after reading a Facebook status update that he posted and couldn’t believe the shocking reality of the situation. Even others that were studying in Rome through the architecture program knew of Good and found the news hard to believe.

Not only did Good’s death take students at Iowa State by surprise, but people from his hometown of Omaha were shocked to hear the news as well. According to Hartwell, who attended middle and high school with Good, people back home are experiencing a similar reaction to the loss of their classmate.

Good’s friends have been contacted by Student Health Center and have been administered general antibiotics to treat bacterial meningitis. They were all contacted promptly and commented on the thoroughness of the student health center’s contacting methods and the measures that they went to in order to ensure that they all felt safe.

“Almost all of us were contacted, they were like if you know anyone who was in contact with [Good] please give us their name and number and they made sure to call everyone that everybody said,” said Gierut.

With his college days nearing their end, Good often expressed eagerness to get into the real world and get a job, as well as remorse that he would soon be leaving his friends at Iowa State. His friends were all anxious to see what his future had in store for him.

A few weeks ago, Rasmussen and his fiance, Emily Jacobsen, had asked Good to be a groomsman in their wedding, which he was very eager to be a part of, having only ever been a ring bearer when he was younger. Upon graduating, he was also planning on going on a trip with Hartwell and another friend. He had applied to go to Germany in the past, through a study abroad program and didn’t get in, so he was excited to finally be able to go.

“He was really looking forward to going to Germany for the partying,” said Hartwell. “I’ve been there, but I was so happy to get to experience that with him. Now it’s only two people going, but we’re going to have twice as much fun for him.”

Good was the friend that was always saying things like “Guys, we only have one month left to be together, we have to go out more.” When he and his friends had been studying for their fundamentals of engineering test, he protested his friends’ suggestions to study more, and insisted that they go out and go dancing. He had remarked a couple of times that he had never said no to anyone that asked him to go out.

“It’s almost like he lived every single day as if he knew he was going to have a 22-year-long life,” said Franz.

Memorials (All in Omaha, Neb.)

Visitations

When: 2-4 p.m. Monday

Where: Heafey-Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak Cutler Mortuaries and Crematory

When: 6:30 p.m. Monday

Where: Saint Robert Bellarmine Parish

Funeral

Where: St. Robert Bellarmine Church

When: 10 a.m. Tuesday

On Campus

Memorial service and candlelight vigil

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall

Memorial display and counseling

A memorial is located in the lobby of Town Engineering to honor TJ Good. Members of the ISU community are invited to visit, leave notes and mementos. These memorials will be shared with the Good family.

Counseling sessions for students, faculty and staff will be held from This is an opportunity to share your thoughts, feelings and memories of TJ. A member of the Student Counseling Services team will be available to offer support for community members.

When: 3-4 p.m. and 4-5 p.m. Friday

Where: Room 322, Town Engineering

How does it occur?

Bacterial meningitis is caused when blood from another infected part of the body carries bacteria to the brain and spinal cord. Bacteria can also enter the brain when you have an ear or sinus infection, or after a skull fracture.

Some forms of bacterial meningitis can be spread from person to person. The bacteria can be spread by close contact with lung and throat secretions — for example, coughing or kissing. None of the bacteria that cause meningitis are as contagious as the viruses that cause the common cold or flu. They are not spread by casual contact or by simply breathing the same air as the person with meningitis.

What are the symptoms?

high fever and chills

headache

stiff neck and back

nausea and vomiting

pain in the arms, legs or abdomen

a red, blotchy rash

seizures

confusion, disorientation, delirium (delusions or hallucinations) or coma, in severe cases

How can I avoid getting bacterial meningitis?

A shot of the meningococcal vaccine can prevent some forms of meningitis. Routine vaccination with this vaccine is recommended for children aged 11 to 12. It is also recommended for the following groups if they have not yet had the shot:

adolescents before they start high school

college freshmen living in dorms

military recruits

travelers to areas where there they might be exposed to meningococcal bacteria

people who have a medical condition called terminal complement deficiency

people who do not have a spleen

Other adolescents and college students, as well as people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS), may also want to ask their provider about getting the meningitis shot.

People who have had close or prolonged contact with someone who has meningitis should tell their health care provider as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours. Close contact includes living in the same house, going to the same day care center, or having close, personal contact, such as what you share with a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you have had close exposure to someone who has meningitis, your provider may give you antibiotics to help prevent you from getting the disease.

— Information from

Thielen Student Health Services