The story goes like this: You go to school for four years and move on to bigger and better things without looking back. But we don’t have to leave Binghamton without a backward glance when our time here is up — we can stay and take advantage of the available opportunities.

Binghamton may not be the most exciting place in the world, but it has a few undeniable charms, to say the least. For students who face the option of going back to live at home after graduation, staying here is a choice that shouldn’t be dismissed. The cost of living is extremely cheap — you can find housing for less than $300 a month — and it’s a great place to get creative and start your own business. And you don’t even have to do it alone.

CIC2020 is offering a four-credit class called ProSeminar in Civic Entrepreneurship every spring semester in the hopes of increasing the number of BU graduates who start a local business by 20 percent by 2020 (see Page 5). As the city becomes more economically developed, the hope is that more students will stay and help.

There have already been success stories.

Escape State Street, a new sandwich shop on Washington Street that offers students a classier (and less artery-clogging) alternative to Pepe’s and Big Daddy’s, is owned by a BU alumnus, a current student and a local resident. M.Y Boutique, a store in Downtown Binghamton owned and managed by two BU students, provides higher-end clothes that can’t be found in Oakdale Mall. Cafe Oasis, Binghamton’s only hookah bar, is likewise partially owned by a former student.

These businesses can provide what is lacking in Binghamton because as former students, their owners have the unique advantage of knowing exactly what people at BU are looking for. They have the connections they’ve developed through their four years at school, and a valuable knowledge of the community.

Owning a business in Binghamton may not be what you planned for, but in the current job market you’ll be a lot more likely to get that New York City dream job if you can say you’ve successfully run your own organization for a few years before sending in an application. If you’re not interested in such entrepreneurship, there are other options available. Anything you can do to set yourself apart will help — step outside the structure of classes to apply your skills and test yourself. Try an internship, shadow a professional, volunteer somewhere; take your pick, but don’t leave Binghamton without making your mark.

We think we can speak for a majority of students when we say we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time at BU, and like it or not, we owe part of that enjoyment to the area surrounding campus. It wouldn’t be fair to dismiss sticking around a little bit longer so quickly when we owe part of those fond memories to the city of Binghamton.