Andrew Hamilton at Commencement 2021

Hello! I'm Andrew Hamilton, president of NYU, and I am delighted to say a few words to the tremendous NYU Shanghai Class of 2021, and nearly one hundred Go Local degree candidates. 

Graduates, this day is about you -- your successes, your goals, your talents and, yes, your determination. This past year has brought challenges that none of us foresaw when you began your studies. Some of you were in person. Some of you studied remotely. Some of you arrived on campus partway through the year. And some of you are Go Local students who used NYU Shanghai as a home away from home. Each of you experienced changes to your routines and expectations. But through it all, you've adapted with resilience, continuing to strive, to grow, and to achieve.

Let me take a moment to recognize NYU Shanghai’s superb Chancellor Tong Shijun and Vice Chancellor Jeff Lehman for guiding the school so expertly through these past 12 months. I'd also like to thank the faculty, administrators and staff who worked extraordinarily hard to provide NYU Shanghai students with safe and fulfilling experiences.

We are so proud of the entire NYU Shanghai community. You added two more Schwartzman Scholars to your ranks. You took part in internships, both in person and remotely. You won first and second place in city soccer, tennis, and basketball competitions. You launched a new center for applied social and economic research. You welcomed to campus more than 2,000 Go Local students from nine NYU schools. And you received a record number of applications for freshman admission next year.

Class of 2021, your experiences have been diverse, but you share key qualities. You possess a global outlook, a keen sense of purpose, enormous drive, the ability to view issues from multiple perspectives, and the capacity to build bridges between different groups of people. In the wake of a year defined by upheaval and reckoning, the world needs your talents now more than ever. And I can't wait to see how you will make an impact for the better. Class of 2021, you have so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to. On behalf of the entire NYU community, warmest congratulations to you all and our very, very best wishes!