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Meadville met New York City early Saturday morning on the first floor of Baldwin Hall.

Standing in the middle of a room stuffed with overflowing bins and still-unpacked boxes, Emily Johnson and her roommate, Sharlyne Cabral, talked about the geography that once separated them — Johnson is from Meadville, Cabral from the Big Apple — and a shared love of the place that brought them together.

Allegheny College “felt like home, and not just because it’s 10 minutes down the road,” Johnson said. “It’s the environment.”

Johnson and Cabral were among the incoming first-year students who received a warm, enthusiastic welcome from staff, administrators and upperclassmen who gathered on campus to help during Move-in Day.

As cars pulled up to the curb outside Baldwin, a machine of volunteers clad in blue shirts sprang to life, emptying the vehicles with quick efficiency. New arrivals were greeted with cheers that made Cabral’s mother feel good about dropping off her only daughter.

“Allegheny feels like a family,” Ingrid Perez Ramirez said. “I know she’s going to have support here and she won’t be alone.”

President James H. Mullen, Jr. and several other administrators were on hand to help haul TVs, refrigerators, microwaves and cases of Snapple into residence halls.

“I am always energized when students return to campus for the academic year,” Mullen said. “It is particularly exciting to welcome our new students to what will be a magical time in their lives — a time of great promise and unlimited potential. These are remarkable young people who enrich our campus and the surrounding community by who they are and the passion they bring to learning and to service.”

Across the hall from Johnson and Cabral, Alexander Harrison unpacked clothes as he waited for his roommate to arrive. The 18-year-old from O’Fallon, Ill., plans to major in chemistry and was drawn to Allegheny because of the opportunity to do hands-on research as an undergraduate.

Harrison describes himself as mellow, not excitable. But he smiled when he saw his room. His brother and sister attend college in Iowa and Arkansas, respectively.

“I think I have the best” room, he said.

As Harrison spoke, Noah Dawgiello, a resident advisor in Baldwin, popped into the room and introduced himself. Everyone rallies around the incoming class to make them feel welcome, Dawgiello said.

“It really brings everyone together,” he said. “There’s a great energy that comes over campus. It’s a great day.”

Outside the Henderson Campus Center, first-year students posed for pictures with the Gator sculpture, a Class of 2020 banner in the background. Inside at the College Resources Fair, tables staffed by College personnel offered information about public safety, civic engagement, international education opportunities and more.

Mid-morning found Brittany Kittle and Shanna Smail in Brooks Hall, wondering whether to bunk their beds. They’d already started on decorations: Kittle’s mom sewed them blue-and-gold personalized pillows featuring the Allegheny logo and mascot.

Kittle said she remembers starting first grade. It doesn’t seem real, she said, that she is now a first-year student at Allegheny.

“I’m nervous and excited,” said Kittle, from Wadsworth, Ohio. “You’re used to having your parents around. Now you just have to figure it out for yourself. But I’m excited about that, about starting out my life by myself.”