Catch up with a Libraries student scholarship awardee: Nick Tobin

The NC State University Libraries awards a number of part-scholarships every year to our outstanding Libraries student workers as part of our efforts to support student success and affordability. Since 2018, we’ve awarded 60 scholarships of varying amounts to 37 students. For the academic year 2023–24, philanthropic support for the Libraries Student Scholarship Fund has allowed us to support 13 of our talented students with scholarship support worth $47,650 in total. This profile is one in a series that lets our scholarship winners tell their stories.

Nick Tobin works in the Libraries’ Access Services department as an Ask Us Student Assistant. In the sophomore year of a Criminology degree, Tobin is committed to a career helping others on a daily basis, and he feels that the career path that will best allow him to have this opportunity is to work within the police department.

What are your hobbies and activities outside of school?
When not doing school work, I enjoy playing video games as well as practicing the drums. I am also a member of the Music Makers Club and the Wolfpack Motorcycle Association at NC State.

Why did you choose to work at the Libraries? What roles have libraries played in your life in general?
I chose to work at the Libraries due to its customer service aspect, since I had been working a similar customer service job for a year and a half before starting college. Working in the Libraries has been awesome and has allowed me to meet a ton of interesting people I likely never would have met. I’ve also gotten more accustomed to the campus and knowledgeable about the resources offered to me to help me succeed in maintaining my studies, health, and professional aspirations.

What have you been most looking forward to this school year?
The thing I’m looking forward to the most this year is completing my “Introduction to Songwriting in DAWs (digital audio workstations)” class. I’ve always wanted to have the ability to create an original piece of music that I can be proud of, and after completing the course, I’ll be one step closer to achieving that goal.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?
After I graduate, I would like to do some form of police work for either a police department or the FBI. Eventually, I would like to move on to something specialized, like detective or investigative work. Hopefully, I’ll also continue to play the drums as a hobby and potentially be good enough to play a couple of gigs as a side job for fun.

What have you learned through your work at the Libraries? How does your work at the Libraries support or lead into your post-graduation plans?
Working for the Libraries—and specifically as an Ask Us Assistant—has done nothing but benefited my time at college so far. I have gained a better understanding of the university as a whole through my job—how the college is structured and operates, as well as where many buildings and crucial points of interest are located on campus. The Libraries has also been a hub where I can ask older coworkers questions about college courses, certain teachers, campus life, and many other things in an easy and casual manner that I wouldn’t get through things like email or talking with faculty. Working for the Libraries has even provided me with a creative musical outlet to dive into. I have met students that wanted to start bands and needed a drummer, and being that I play drums, the pieces just fell in place for me to join a band. I also joined the Music Maker Club here at NC State due to my bandmates, which wouldn’t have been possible if I wasn’t working for the Libraries. Overall, working for the Libraries has had nothing but a positive impact on me in ways that are more meaningful than just providing myself with a source of income.

How will a Libraries scholarship help you on your educational/personal path? Is there anything specific that the scholarship will enable or help you to do?
The largest expense that the Libraries scholarship has helped pay for has been my apartment’s rent. I’d also say that because of the scholarship, I have more money to put towards unexpected expenses such as car problems, medical appointments, and potential loss of property. Receiving a scholarship has also allowed me to reduce the amount of loans that I have taken out this year, which has saved me from a lot of future stress and payments after I graduate.

Learn more about the Libraries Student Scholarship Endowment here, and donate directly here.