I am a native of Raleigh, but before I started attending NC State and I got a job at an independent bookstore a few miles away, I didn’t fully understand the importance of our community. We students are all living our own lives, going to our respective classes, attending our respective clubs and meetings, and most of us are focused on our goals exclusively. But while we are students here, we make up the fabric of not just our school and its campus, but the area of Raleigh as a whole.

Here at State, we exist in a world that does not just consist of Avent Ferry Road, Western Boulevard and Hillsborough Street. We do not just occupy the blocks that mark the locations of our residence halls, classes and Cook Out, but Raleigh in general. From the historic sights downtown, to the North Carolina State Capitol, to the many neighborhoods and businesses, we are all interwoven into this city’s story: present and future.

Now all of this is probably extremely obvious to most people, but it is so easy to overlook this while we are working toward doing well in our classes, graduation and our individual futures. But NC State’s campus and our larger community of Raleigh are ours collectively to take care of, give back to and appreciate in ways big and small. I came to this realization last fall. Right before I transferred to NC State in the spring, and began my classes, I got a job working at a bookstore called Quail Ridge Books. Quail Ridge is a bookstore that has been in the community for 33 years. It started out as a tiny vision by a woman named Nancy Olson. Nancy has now passed away, but her bookstore has grown into a cornerstone for residents of Raleigh who want to buy a book, while giving money to a locally owned business. Quail Ridge is an independent store, owned by locals, who put love and thought into the community that they live in every day. Funnily enough, I didn’t even know it existed until I happened to wander in one day and ask for a job application.

When I became a part of the fabric of this store, my eyes opened. I felt even more appreciation for the city that I call home, and am lucky enough to get a great education in. A few days a week, I take the Wolfline from North Campus to my car and then take the 10-minute journey to Quail Ridge. It is in these trips that I have realized how important we as a school are to the community of Raleigh, as we are its cornerstone. But so much of what makes our experience worthwhile is the hard work of small business owners, state employees and members of the community who work to make Raleigh what it is. Small businesses give our city character, individuality and substance while putting money back into community. This helps infrastructure, public schools and local workers. I get to work with amazing people, while knowing that I am a part of something that is small in size, but so much bigger than me, because it represents the efforts of people who want to make the city that they live in a better place.

Now, this is not an advertisement to get anyone to visit the store, but rather a call for us as students to think about the ways we can strengthen and safeguard the community in which we live, monetarily or otherwise. I am sharing my realization that how we interact, not just with our campus, but our city as a whole, is important and necessary. Every small business we frequent, every visit to a museum or historic attraction, every volunteer effort and every action we take major or minor gives back directly to the city that does so much for us. It is of great importance that we preserve, protect and strengthen the fabric of our community at State by appreciating what the larger community of Raleigh affords us. Whether any one of us plans to stay in Raleigh once we graduate or not, for right now, it belongs to us, and what we do for this city matters. I am grateful that my job and my life as a student here has taught me this.