Breaking Barriers Initiative Roll Out to Class of 2018

Dear Class of 2018,

When we, the class of 2017 first arrived, we didn’t have upperclassmen to help us build a community where everyone would be accepted and involved. As a result, the first NYU Shanghai Student Government decided to launch a project called the Breaking Barriers Initiative (BBI). Through BBI, we want to help you prepare for this new step in your life! Before meeting your new multicultural classmates, STOP and BREATHE. It’s going to be overwhelming. You probably won’t be able to pronounce half the names for the first 2 weeks. And that’s ok. Be open-minded. Think about what it means for you to study in a multicultural diverse community, with more than 45 nationalities constantly interacting. How ready are you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace a new world of acceptance, understanding, and respect?

We are going to be here to help you integrate, help others integrate, and guide you to become true Global Citizens. For that, the Breaking Barriers Initiative offers you 3 different programs, which we are excited for you to join: The Brothers and Sisters: 大&小, La Familia and The Language Awareness Campaign. 

• Brothers and Sisters: 大&小 is a student-led initiative aimed to create an enhanced sense of community between you and the sophomores. Sophomores and freshmen will act as buddies, cooperating to survive college-life, Shanghai and finding a place inside our community. In order for us to find your perfect buddy, please take 5 minutes to complete this online application!
• La Familia is a program designed to look at cross-cultural differences within and beyond NYU. It involves a lot of interaction with NYU Abu Dhabi, for example, throughout regular skype conversations.
• The Language Awareness Campaign is a project designed to make students more conscientious about their language choices as NYU Shanghai is a multilingual community. No matter what country we come from, we should beware of the language we use and how we communicate with others.

If you are interested in the Breaking Barriers Initiative, we have a few open spots on next year’s Committee, which will work on planning events and organizing and coordinating activities for the three programs listed above. If you would like to join next year’s BBI committee, please complete this application form or contact us atshanghai.bbi.dos@nyu.edu. Thank you!

Watch the video.