“If RTC wasn’t near RM? I would cry,” sophomore Shai Kaplan said. Nestled in Rockville and a mere 10-minute walk from RM, Rockville Town Center (RTC) is more than just a place to grab a bite during lunch or run some errands. It’s become a hub for students to do homework, socialize and make unforgettable memories.

One of the most popular spots in RTC for many students is the Rockville Memorial Library, located in the heart of RTC. A Rockville Memorial head librarian, Sarah Fradkin, says she sees many teens studying in the quieter second floor, reserving study rooms, or working together on group projects. “I think it’s a great thing because if they weren’t in the library, then it might not be as likely for them to use the library as adults,” Fradkin said. “So it’s nice that [students are] continuing to go to the library.”

For these students, the Rockville Memorial Library is a sanctuary to get work done, especially if they can’t find that environment in school or at home. “Compared to studying at home… it’s worth going to have a space where you can quietly sit down and focus on your work without being distracted,” sophomore Marcus Langlee said, a student at Wootton High School. “Some people don’t have a productive study environment at home the way RTC provides.”

RTC’s location draws students from other high schools across the county. Senior Andrew Zhao says that at RTC, he’s seen many friends from other schools. “I’ve encountered some people from Churchill, Wootton and Blair sometimes. Occasionally, if I see someone that I knew in middle school, then I will talk to them,” Zhao said. This reiterates the idea of RTC as a shared place where both RM students and students from other high schools can interact. “Through both studying and recreational visits, I get to meet a lot of people, not just from my school,” Langlee said.

Sophomore Alex Yeo, a student who comes to RTC from Blair, says this environment is what makes the hour-long bus trip worth it. “If I go home, I’ll just immediately go to my bed,” Yeo said. “So it’s a much better alternative.

Junior Clara Arbolino says the library not only provides a quiet place for work, but its location in RTC offers a breath of fresh air. “We came to the library a lot to study for APs,” Arbolino said. “It sounds like it wouldn’t be that fun, but it was actually a good environment to do it in, since we can take breaks and go walk in RTC.”

Zhao also mentions the environment RTC offers for mental and emotional rest. “I’ve really benefited from 5 p.m. hangout sessions with my friends at the library,” Zhao said. “Just having a solid block of time to talk with people you like has definitely helped me process my emotions a lot.”

James Zhang, an RM alum and freshman at the University of Maryland, shares this sentiment. “The Spot [an Asian food hall] really gives you an opportunity to have deep, meaningful talks,” Zhang said. ”It’s not just studying.”

RTC similarly serves as an extension of school life, including use for classes and extracurriculars. Arbolino says that students in IB Film often come to RTC to record content. “It’s a place where they can work creatively and use the fun setting around us,” Arbolino said.

She also describes how clubs like the Outdoors Club take advantage of the atmosphere. “They just have an ice skating fundraiser…I think stuff like that is really cool, that clubs in school can use RTC outside of school,” Arbolino said. “It’s kind of an environment for students, even when school’s not happening.”

While most students come after participating in after-school, others do so after school activities, such as sports practices. “We come here after cross-country [and] track. It’s not every day, but just when we have time after,” Arbolino said.

“RTC is a hub for a lot of internship opportunities as well. I think it’s a reason why I picked RM over any other magnet school,” senior Grace Li said. Frakdin says that students, such as one of their teen librarians, are able to have these opportunities working as librarians, doing outreach and organizing outreach events.

This is a belief held by many students, like Zhao, who says that students choose RM over other magnet schools because of what it offers. “People choose RM over Blair or Poolesville [because] there are a lot of things to do,” he said. ”RM is in the middle of a lot of things, so I think that definitely adds to our identity.”

Junior Mikayla Hu says that a lot of her academic success and extracurriculars are reliant on RTC. She has even rejected a recent tutoring job because even though it was closer to her house, it was further away from the town center. She currently works at Kyotomatcha, in the center of the town square, and on some days will stay until 10 p.m. For such students, their lives center around RTC. “My extracurriculars are surrounded by this place,” Hu said.

Zhao also follows an intense regimen when it comes to frequenting RTC nearly daily. “After 2:30 when I get off school, I typically wait a few minutes for my friends to see if anyone’s coming, and then I take around 10 minutes to walk to the library,” Andrew said. “At the library, I do like to have some focus time, but I also genuinely fall asleep halfway through sometimes. So I’ll occasionally take a 30-minute break in between to get something to drink or eat. Then I leave the library at around 5:30.”

For Andrew, following this RTC lifestyle is preferable to spending time at home, especially when he needs an environment to get work done. “I think that having people who will look over my shoulder and kind of enforce my working time is definitely better [than being at home].”

Outside of work and the pressure of school, many students find RTC as an optimal place for socializing and connecting with their peers. “I think most of the best bonding happens over food. So that’s something that RTC obviously provides,” Li said. From popular places like The Spot to smaller restaurants like Lebanese Taverna, RTC is filled with food that can meet everyone’s tastes. She says that RTC also offers convenient places for students to gather together, instead of going through the hassle of driving somewhere. Senior Katherine Xue, who would spend two to three hours every day as a junior after school at RTC, says that it serves as a third space, a social environment outside of home or school where people can gather and form a community. “I think it’s really important, especially as high schoolers, to have a third place,” Xue said. “A lot of people have heard about [a third place], but now it’s mostly becoming digital. And I think it’s really important to keep a traditional, conventional third place because it’s a place where you’re socialized.”

This builds on RTC’s nature as a social hub, giving students an opportunity to get together and to also meet new people they couldn’t have otherwise. “I’ve made and strengthened a lot of friendships because we all go to RTC after school,” Xue said. “It’s always a good thing because you always see so many friends around. And then you can kind of just check, and you’re like, what’s up? What drink did you get?”

From salsa dances to puzzle hunts to cultural festivals, RTC offers a lively space for students to have new experiences, no matter the season. Its famous outdoor winter ice rink is one of the most popular destinations, which students like Li go to at least once or twice a year. Xue says that one of her favorite memories was going to a puzzle competition, which she falsely thought referred to a scavenger hunt. “It was actually just a competition of who could piece together this jigsaw puzzle the fastest,” Xue says. “And all of our opponents were in eighth grade. But we won, and it was a good memory.”

However, RTC is not without places for improvement. When asked about what other spaces should be added to RTC, students such as Xue and Zhao mourn the closing of Marble Slab and wish for a new ice cream spot to replace it. “I was devastated when Marble Slab closed down,” Zhao said. “I would definitely like Marble Slab back … [or] a new ice cream spot.”

Public spaces like these also come with their own set of risks. Though RTC is generally viewed as a safe area, Li says that students, especially female students, should still keep in mind that it is a public space. “I try to not stay out at RTC past 5 or 5:30 when it’s dark out, just because it is a public area,” Li said. Xue says she knows people who have had uncomfortable interactions with strangers. “This guy started making suggestive comments at them,” she said. “And it’s just certain people are strange, and it makes the experience a little weirder.”

Though these experiences are uncomfortable, Xue says that for the most part, RTC is a great place for students to visit. As she described this year’s homecoming, which she spent in RTC, Xue recalled an interaction that stuck with her. “There was this policeman who came over. And then he gave us a bunch of coupons for free slurpees,” she said. When Xue asked him why, the officer explained it was simply because they were “young people doing young people things.”