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New students arriving at their appointed residence halls for Move-In Day might have been up late last night, checking and double-checking to make sure they had everything they would need at Rider’s Lawrenceville campus: televisions, bed coverings, and boxes of belongings that give their room the comforts of home.

One thing they didn’t have to worry about, however, was how to move all these items into their new rooms. They knew they could rely on their buddies – their Bronc Buddies, that is.

What can be an arduous process for freshmen at many colleges and universities – waiting in a logjam of cars before having to lug boxes, televisions and bed coverings up two or three flights of stairs – is rendered simple by Rider’s Bronc Buddy system, which sees packed SUVs cleared of their contents in minutes, safely deposited in the dorm rooms of some 875 new students.

This unique component of the Orientation Program was established to assist new students and their families with the transition into college. The Bronc Buddies help new residents move into their assigned residence halls, escort new students to opening weekend events, and facilitate various activities for the arrivals on campus.

This year, the more than 440 upperclassmen, easily recognizable by their distinctive T-shirts, included fraternity and sorority members, student-athletes and other student leaders. The Bronc Buddy program has become a popular and efficient part of the Move-In Day bustle.

“I was helped a lot when I moved in my freshman year, so I wanted to help out now,” said Psychology major Naquasia Ramsey-Sheppard ’15 during a brief respite outside Olson Hall. Along with Theresa Feng ’13, Kayln Nevitt ’15 and Madeline Smith’15, she waited for the next wave of cars to arrive, with new students eager to shuttle their belongings into their rooms.

Fang, a Business Administration major, said she received the same helping hand from the Bronc Buddies when she arrived at Rider last year as a transfer student.

“I was like, “oh, great – I guess I have help,” she recalled, adding that she was now happy to pay the favor forward.

Though they are alerted to the Bronc Buddies program through Rider’s orientation, parents of new students are nevertheless always thrilled by the smooth efficiency of the process.

“This is fabulous! Fabulous!” said Debbie Koshko, of Vernon, N.J., whose son, Tyler Gould ’16, was moving into Conover Hall. “I’m so happy he’s here!”

Even parents who previously knew the campus as students are pleased with the advent of the Bronc Buddies program.

“I think it’s great. It’s so well orchestrated,” said Sherry Ritter ’84 of Cream Ridge, N.J., whose son, Matthew Ritter ’16, an Accounting major, moved into Conover while she chatted briefly with Rider President Mordechai Rozanski. “I think it’s pretty cool that the president is here to help, too.”

Overseeing the operation outside was Diana Clauss, assistant director of Campus Life for Recreation Programs, who was pleased with what she called a “fluid environment.

“It’s a very good team effort from everyone involved,” said Clauss, who added that she was also happy to interact with a group of students she might not otherwise have the chance to know.