When Lyra Biancamano first transferred to The College of New Jersey in the fall semester of 2015, she felt like she was drowning.

Suddenly submerged in a sea of indiscriminate brick buildings, filled with classrooms flooded with unfamiliar faces, all immersed in a rigorous academic workload, the new transfer felt lost, alone and overwhelmed.

"Honestly it was really really hard. There were definitely a lot of times when I thought about dropping out," Ms. Biancamano said.

Two years later, Ms. Biancamano, a senior English and elementary education major, is far from drowning or dropping out. She eventually found her niche by getting involved in multiple organizations on campus. Her initial struggles with transferring also inspired her to work with the Griffin program since its inception.

The Griffin program was founded in the spring semester in 2016 to assist new transfer students in their first semester at TCNJ. The Office of Student Transitions hires between 10 and 12 returning transfers every year to each mentor a group of 15-30 new transfer students.

Lindsay Barndt, the Director of Student Transitions at the College, oversees the Griffin program.

“I don't think there's a lot of programs out there like it,” Ms. Barndt said. “I think that it just is it was such a need for our students and it was such a need I think across the board for other institutions.”

Ms. Biancamano worked as Griffin for three semesters, and then was promoted to the College Enhancement Intern for the Office of Student Transitions. She assists Ms. Barndt in training the new Griffins and making the Griffin program better each semester.

“What the Griffin program is primarily aimed to do is help transfer students feel like they belong here and get a sense for what it’s like to be a lion,” Ms. Biancamano said with a big smile.

Nick Veronsky, a senior psychology major who transferred last fall semester, now works in the Griffin program as well. “We basically act as their source of knowledge and the experience because we’ve gone through the same things,” he said. “We can give them the advantage of knowing things that we didn’t know.”

Jamie Taylor, a junior English and secondary education major, attributes some of her initial success as a transfer to the Griffin program.

A year later, Ms. Taylor is a proud Griffin. “Being a Griffin is definitely one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done at TCNJ, or probably ever,” she said.

Griffins first meet their group of new transfers during August Welcome Days. They guide them through various icebreakers, information sessions, and Welcome Week events.

However, their role as mentor does not end at the first week of school. Throughout the entire semester, Griffins send out weekly emails to their groups of transfer students, alerting them of important announcements and keeping them updated on upcoming campus events. In the past two semesters, the program started focusing on hosting a handful of events of their own.

Last Tuesday night, the Griffins held an event called “Find Your Slice and Classes,” when the Griffins brought pizza from a variety of restaurants nearby, so students new to the area could determine where their favorite pizza place is around campus. After eating and conversing, the Griffins led a presentation on how to find and register for classes online.

The Griffins are named after the mythological creature, according to the Office of Student Transitions. The creature has the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle, and is known for protecting treasure. Griffins are part lion, as they are students of TCNJ, but also maintain their hybrid identity with their past schools. They aim to protect and mentor new transfer students, and help them spread their own wings in the community by encouraging them to get involved on campus.

When asked about the most important piece advice she gives to new transfers, Ms. Biancamano said,

Moe Rahmatullah transferred this semester after receiving his associate’s degree from the County College of Morris. He is an interdisciplinary business major, but is currently in the process of switching to interactive multimedia. While reflecting on his first few weeks at TCNJ, he sighed and said, “I tried to jump in and do a lot…I took five classes and did join the crew team and a few clubs…and that lasted about two weeks.”

However, Mr. Rahmatullah remains optimistic. “You should go out of your way early on to explore a lot of different things,” he said. “Once you’ve got a good feel for everything just go where you are gravitating towards.”

When asked about what helped him find his way at the College, he cited the Griffin program. He claimed the program “helped me find my grounding here…The people who I’m hanging out with, they’re from my Griffin group.”

The Griffin program has not only helped new transfer students, but returning transfers students as well.

Allie Clapp, a senior biology major and veteran Griffin, said that working for the Griffin program helped her develop valuable leadership skills and friend circles.

The Griffin program will begin hiring their new group of Griffins for next year in the coming months, according to the Office of Student Transitions. They are hosting their second interest session this Thursday, in TCNJ’s Education Building, room 113. The Director of Student Transitions and a panel of Griffins will be speaking at the session.