My name is Sean Cavanaugh and I write for HeyBoro.com. I am a sophomore political science major at Rider University and I’m here to share with you why I chose Rider and about my first year in college. I am enjoying the college experience very much and had a great Freshman year. I can’t wait for what my next three years at Rider will bring!

I started touring colleges in Spring 2018 with visits to Seton Hall, Rutgers and Fairleigh Dickinson. That summer, I would also tour TCNJ, Rider, Monmouth, and Drew. These seven schools were all the ones I applied to. I had always wanted to stay close to home and not go too far away. They were each great in their own ways, and I was accepted into a majority of them. Throughout most of the process, I felt like Monmouth was my favorite and the frontrunner. I enjoyed the feel of the campus, plus its location by the beach was cool. However, I wanted to start out as a commuter student, which made attending Monmouth a challenge. After the start of the school year, I knew that I would’ve immediately gotten tired of the long drive and had to live on campus. Once I learned about Rider’s political science program more in depth at admitted students day, it became my most likely pick. I am particularly interested in local and state government, and Rider had the best political science program as a whole and in terms of that specific aspect. The political science department includes the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, which brings politicians and others involved in politics to campus to speak a few times each semester, and is where you can get help with resume writing and finding campaign work and internships. It is headed by Micah Rasmussen, who was the press secretary for Governor Jim McGreevey and held a number of other critical positions in the state’s political industry. Him and my other political science professors are awesome!

Rider has been in existence for 155 years. It was founded in 1865 by Andrew J. Rider, who served as the school’s first president. The school was originally Trenton Business College and founded after the Civil War to train people in the area for jobs in the booming post-war economy. The school was renamed to the Rider Business College in 1895, five years before Andrew J. Rider’s retirement in 1900. It eventually became just Rider College when more degrees were added. Rider was granted university status in 1994 and renamed that year. After being located in a number of locations in Trenton, Rider relocated to Lawrenceville and the campus opened in 1959 in its current location, which is on Route 206 just south of Route 295. Rider has also owned Westminster Choir College since 1992, located in Princeton until its relocation to the Lawrenceville campus starting this year.

Myself and A.J. the Bronc, Rider’s mascot, at Admitted Students Day in March 2019

My classes in my first two semesters went well for me and I had the opportunity to meet many amazing classmates. I was quite surprised at how many of them came from out-of-state. I met multiple people from Florida, Ohio, and Texas. Some other states that people I met come from include Minnesota and Oregon. It seems like every day when I walk through the parking lot, I see so many different license plates from all over the country. Three classmates of mine last year were from Spain, one was from Canada, and one was from The Netherlands! They are all great people and it was very cool to hear what their lives are like in their respective countries. I sometimes think to myself how they even found a small school like Rider, but it is no doubt a great school, so I guess it can stand out to anyone! Plus, I got to see my classmates from Hillsborough High School that are also at Rider, both those from my graduating class of 2019 and the ones before mine. I actually was in a class with a few of them, one of whom is also a political science major like myself.

The series of Rebovich speakers this past year started with Governor Phil Murphy, who came to Rider in a packed house event in September, followed by New Jersey Globe founder and writer David Wildstein (also a former Chris Christie staffer involved in Bridgegate), Michael Pillsbury, who is an advisor to Trump on China, and a panel of mayors from Mercer County to discuss the water quality in the Trenton area. In the spring, Rebovich had events with former Governor Jim McGreevey as well as New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way before COVID hit and the two remaining events were cancelled. In addition, I am a member of the Rider Republicans, and we went to see Nikki Haley speak in Cherry Hill on her book tour last November.

Nikki Haley in her event in Cherry Hill in November 2019. This is a picture of the TV screen near our seats, as we were in the back of the room and couldn’t see her too well.

One of two annual events that takes place at Rider that I had the chance to attend was Cranberry Fest. For 40 years and counting, students have gathered on the campus mall for this longstanding school event, which takes place each September and features lots of food (including cranberries, of course!), games and party inflatables. Plus, there is a concert to cap it off. For 2019, musician and Nickelodeon actor Drake Bell came to perform. The other was an event with the author of the school’s summer reading book, which last year was Anna Clark, author of The Poisoned City, a book about the Flint, Michigan water crisis.

In closing, I could not be more happier at Rider and enjoyed last year very much and am excited for my remaining three and what opportunities it will lead me to in the future! Go Broncs!

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