When the residence halls throughout campus officially opened for the general student population to move-in Tuesday, Aug. 17, the Department of Residence welcomed them with open arms.

The DOR anticipated the need for a revised move-in procedure across campus, facing the largest enrollment in Iowa State’s history and limited parking near the Union Drive residence halls — where construction on State Gym left only 40 spaces usable for parking.

Fortunately, students volunteered to help speed up the process. The DOR hired 551 students to join the move-in crew, more than three times last year’s 170 members.

“[Move-in] went incredibly smooth,” said Pete Englin, director of the Department of Residence. “Our move-in crew volunteers did a fantastic job of quickly getting students and families into the residence halls. The additional members made a tremendous difference.”

The participation increase was the result of a summer postcard mailing to students asking if they were interested in moving in early, the catch being that they had to volunteer with the move-in crew.

“[I joined] mostly because my friends did, and I wanted to get settled in earlier,” said Kyle Litzer, sophomore in aerospace engineering. “It was a good experience, there were a lot of nice people and everyone appreciated the help we provided.”

Another factor in the increased volunteer turnout was the fact that freshmen were allowed to participate for the first time.

“Freshmen helped other students move in and were excited to do so, and I think that makes a great statement about our students; even though they’re here for their first time, they’re willing to help their fellow students get moved in,” Englin said. “This year’s was the best move-in in my five years serving as director, even with the growth in occupancy.”