This is the first commencement ceremony to take place on campus since the pandemic
A total of 364 students representing 85 countries have graduated from NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) in the largest class the university has held since its inception in 2011.
This is the first in-person launch event held at NYUAD after two years of Covid-19.
The students were honored on the university campus in the presence of Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of Community Development Department, Dr Obaid Al-Hairy Alketbi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr O Holding Group, Mohammed Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, Chairman of Al Fahim Group, as well as ambassadors and other officials in the United Arab Emirates.
NYUAD Vice-Chancellor Mariët Westermann presided over the ceremony along with NYU President Andrew Hamilton, who will step down in June next year after eight years in the role.
Ellen Stofan, PhD, undersecretary for science and research at the Smithsonian Institution, and internationally acclaimed sculptor Anish Kapoor gave keynote addresses.
“Today marks an incredible personal milestone. When you decided years ago to come to NYU Abu Dhabi, you probably had no idea what was in store for you or how these years would shape and shape you. change. The experiences you have had, the friends you have made, the teachers who have inspired you – they have helped you discover the best in yourself. You could not have imagined that your university years would be taken in a global pandemic, changing everything and making everything harder,” Stofan said.
“Yet you are here, in person, for the first time since the start of Covid. There’s no better tribute to the challenges you’ve faced than being able to hug your classmates and share that with your family. You did it!” she added.
“Do something that comes from your inner self. Something else. It takes hard work and even more courage,” Kapoor said.
“I say to you in everything and for everything, dear brothers and sisters, thank you,” he added.
This year’s opening ceremony included a number of awards and honors, including the inaugural Alfred H. Bloom Global Liberal Arts Fellowship, NYUAD Piano Prize, Global Leadership Award, and Distinguished Alumni Award, as well than the torch ceremony.
Class of 2022 student Yusril Nurhidayat spoke on behalf of the class. Originally from Indonesia, Nurhidayat majored in social research and public policy with a minor in theatre. Emirati student Hessa Al Abbas, a civil engineering graduate, also delivered a brief welcome speech.
Nurhidayat said, “For us, NYU Abu Dhabi has been a dream come true, but the work certainly needs to continue. We owe it to the people who believed in us and supported us to pass on their kindness, now more than ever. Today is just one of our many beginnings, and I hope that as we move forward into the next chapter of our lives, we will continue to focus on who we want to be. Class of 2022, you are all some of the most passionate, hardworking, kind and resilient people I have ever met in my life, and so if anything, you should all continue to be yourselves, but stay open and curious to exude your best and seek to be better than your past.
To date, NYUAD has grown to an undergraduate population of 1,834 students from more than 120 countries speaking more than 115 languages and a graduate population of 114.