As a teacher and graduate student at Georgia State University, I’m always on the move. This picture is my view as I exit M Deck, cross the street, and begin my peripatetic day. In the background is 25 Park Place, the old SunTrust bank building, which houses the Department of English and my office, which is on the 22nd floor. With its break rooms, Zen rooms, picturesque views, and the recently opened Downtown Highland Bakery on the ground floor, the building is a tall, white, many-windowed refuge from the otherwise frenzied pace of graduate school.

One of the things I most love about being part of an urban university is its spatial diversity. It is as hectic as it is rewarding. Whether I’m teaching at Classroom South, rushing to office hours at 25 Park Place, or grabbing a quick lunch from Rising Roll, my day is marked by movement from place to place. In the midst of the sunlight bearing down, the thick city air enveloping me like a cloak, and the cacophony of urban life whirring around me, I’ve had discussions about politics, religion, goals, and the unique frustrations of graduate student life. Rarely do these discussions happen in my office. Instead, a fellow graduate student will drop by my office, and we will ride the elevator to the ground floor together, exit the building, and hurriedly catch up, offer encouragement, or discuss the latest way we can improve our CVs and be marketable in three years when we finish our dissertations.  On the street, in the heart of the city, my life and career have become part of the urban milieu.