Welcome, Class of 2024!

Members of the NYU Shanghai Class of 2024 moved into our residence halls this week. About 500 students from 38 countries are expected to enroll as first-year students this fall. With COVID-19 border and travel restrictions still in place, most of our international students will study remotely until permission can be secured for their entry into China.

After waking up at 5am to drive from Suzhou to Shanghai with her parents, Wang Yiting ’24 was one of the early birds. Here, she receives her NYU Shanghai student ID.

NYU Shanghai Chancellor Tong Shijun, Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, and Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen joined in some of the Move-In Day action.

Feng Sihan’24 from Nantong, Jiangsu Province, receives his check-in materials from NYU Shanghai staff.

Zhu Taorun ’24 from Changchun, Jilin checks into his room with the help of a Resident Assistant (“RA”). RA’s are always coming up with creative ways to help students check-in.

New roommates: Wu Zichu ’24 from Beijing, Elena Welsch ’24 from Mannheim, Germany, and Wang Yiting’24 from Suzhou are ready to start unpacking and embark on their NYU Shanghai journey.

Ken Wu ’24, a Californian who went to high school in Shenzhen, says he is looking forward to live classes. “Shanghai is one of the safest cities right now; it has controlled the pandemic really well,” he says. “Being able to take in-person classes [at NYU Shanghai] is quite lucky. I’m looking forward to the new school year, meeting new people and being a part of NYU Shanghai.”

“I’m just out of quarantine, and I felt really excited and a little nervous to be here. Everything is big and new to me. My roommate, Ma Yiwei is from Inner Mongolia. I hope to learn Chinese, enjoy Chinese food, and travel more in the next four years,” says Jinuk Kim ’24 of Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in South Korea, pictured on the left. China loosened border restrictions for South Korean students earlier this summer, enabling Kim to arrive in time for school. All travelers arriving in Shanghai from abroad must quarantine for 14 days before they can move freely in the city. "We've already known each other via WeChat and we hugged each other today when we first met. Jinuk is a really nice roommate!" said Ma Yiwei ’24.

American student Teresa Angulo ’24, whose parents work in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, has lived in China for 10 years. “I want to make friends with people from different countries,” she says. “I like that NYU Shanghai is diverse and dynamic.” Upper-class Orientation Ambassadors Gloria Guo '23 and Benice Feng '23 help Angulo with her luggage.

Due to the new COVID safety precautions, parents this year were not allowed to accompany their children into the residence halls. Still, many waited outside as their children settled into their new rooms.

Showing their violet pride, Wu Zichu ’24 and her parents pose for a photo with Chancellor Tong.

Orientation Ambassadors were introduced to students of the Class of 2024 during the opening “Health and Safety” session. OAs play a huge role in assisting arriving students with their needs throughout the term.

On the evening of September 9, about 300 NYU Shanghai first-year students gathered together in person for NYU Shanghai’s Class of 2024 convocation ceremony, while another 200 joined online from overseas.

During the convocation ceremony, Feng Boning (Bernice) ’23 played a song from the Tang Dynasty called “Jiang jun ling” on the guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument. This year’s orientation theme is a character for music, (琴, qin) taken from the ancient Chinese expression used to describe a well-rounded scholar: 琴棋书画 (music, chess, calligraphy, and painting). As a liberal arts university in China, NYU Shanghai is a community where students are encouraged to learn, discover, and cultivate their talents.

Students video-chatted their international classmates after the University Welcome.

On September 10, 23 students participated in a Diversity & Summer Reading Workshop. Under the guidance of Senior Global Writing and Speaking Fellow Liu Zixia, international and Chinese students mingled together via Zoom shared a one-hour long discussion on race inspired by Aronson Family Professor of Criminal Justice at NYU School of Law Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy.

Fifteen Chinese students and one student from South Korea attended the workshop in person while eight international students joined online.

Huang Qiya ’24 from Zhejiang Province (foreground), felt closer to her classmates after exchanging ideas with them during Orientation Week. “It’s great to e-meet with other international students who are unable to come to school because of COVID-19 in this mix-mode Zoom Workshop. I hope to meet them soon.” Yuan Yihan ’24 said she was (background, in black) excited to be part of an open dialogue on stereotypes. “We should try to understand the roots between our differences and believe that it is the differences that make the world colorful,” she said. “The discussion brings me to a new angle to understand things about injustices when talking about Just Mercy.”