There is no doubt that one can graduate from NYU Abu Dhabi with profound knowledge in their area of study. However, it is not only academic scholarship in my alma mater that I highly value but also the day-to-day interactions with some of the most unique individuals: fellow peers, staff members, and academics that I’ve had the privilege to meet here.

The past four years were full of insightful Kashtah trips, engaging student life events, interesting classes, challenging group assignments, unique research opportunities, and, naturally, 1,001 sleepless nights with friends.

In a nutshell, my academic life at NYUAD happened on five different continents with an average of 20 flight segments per year. It amounts to 40 successfully completed courses (directed studies included), eight successfully completed internships, numerous regional class trips, and Capstone research in Ukraine as well as in the UAE.

I am grateful beyond words to NYUAD for the family gained here and to the administrators and staff in particular, who have been incredible role models and friends who I’ve learned so much from over the past four years. Above all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to professors Judith Miller, John Coughlin, and Elisabeth Anderson for all the time and knowledge they invested in me — without them this journey would not have been the same.

I still remember the day I first stepped foot on the Saadiyat campus — August 25, 2014. Specifically, I recall how hot it was that afternoon and how long the walk seemed from the Welcome Center to the Campus Center. To make it worse, my suitcase had broken during the journey and I had to drag it painfully on one wheel.

Looking around the newly built campus back then, there was nothing but vast spaces of desert. I was curious to see how long it would take for me to become a part of the NYU Abu Dhabi community. As Marhaba began, I did not have to wait more than a few hours to realize that I was already a part of it.

Before I came to NYUAD, I knew I wanted to study mechanical engineering but I did not realize that I would learn so much more outside of class through conversations with friends. Granted, these conversations have often been healthy excuses
for procrastination but they became so frequent that I could not imagine a day without them!

These four years have undoubtedly been the best part of my life so far and I know that the community I was fortunate enough to spend this time with played a huge part in that.  The walk from the Welcome Center is one that I will always remember as I felt a sense of belonging with each step I took, not just toward the campus but to the world I would soon venture out into.

When I first arrived at NYU Abu Dhabi, I was blown away by everybody’s kindness. There was a buzz and excitement in the air that seemed to originate from one of the university’s core ideas: live the possibilities. This quote encapsulates my time here very well, as I’ve been able to experience things that I would have never thought possible.

From traveling to all but one continent, to taking on internships in three highly desirable, cosmopolitan cities, to having my mind challenged in class and by my peers on a daily basis, it is difficult to sum everything up into just a few words. This momentum really self-perpetuated sometimes. All I can conclude is that I have been stretched, encouraged, and enlightened in many different ways.

It makes me realize that college is such a wonderful time for exploring what’s out there, and figuring out what’s right for you. It’s like collecting many little puzzle pieces, and figuring out which ones make sense for your own bigger picture. The NYUAD experience is a significant piece of my life puzzle that I will take into the future.

The best piece of advice I got at NYU Abu Dhabi came from my football coach, Peter Dicce, who reminds us to leave this university better than we found it. His words seem pertinent at the end of these four years.  How have we fared? Have we managed to leave this university better than we found it?

We are the first cohort to spend all four years on the Saadiyat Island campus. In August 2014, we arrived on a campus that felt like a beautiful but empty canvas. I had the strange honor of checking out the first item from the new library, and I imagine all of us remember the sheer newness of it all.

Four years later, we have painted that vast canvas with our accolades, winning Rhodes, Truman, Schwarzman, and Fulbright scholarships. We have secured high positions in the UAE government. We have published groundbreaking research. We have witnessed moments of singular individual inspiration. But what convinces me most that we are leaving this university better than we found it are the subtle, gradual victories we have won.

To draw on my own experiences, we have created the Abu Dhabi Intercollegiate Sports League (ADISL), which encourages students to get active, and also marks a milestone in Emirati gender equality. We have been ceaseless advocates for progress, always aspiring to inclusiveness and diversity. In these ways and more, we have left a positive legacy.

Our university is no longer new, but we continue to pioneer. Even as the Class of 2018 graduates, NYU Abu Dhabi still boasts more current students than it does alumni. We have glimpsed our university’s impactfulness, and we know that our still-untapped potential to shape the world surpasses the amount of good we have done so far. We can and must do our part to create a more open, tolerant, and empathetic society.

Be encompassing in your compassion. Keep following the curiosity that brought you to this university, and keep discovering new passions, because when we recognize the interconnectedness of our knowledge, we develop a more sophisticated worldview. One might even say, in the choice words of the RealAD show, that when we recognize the power of our cumulative efforts, we “can hear it/the sound that tomorrow sings.” Let us never stop listening.