NYU Shanghai student Jack Zhu received first prize in the 21st Century Coca-Cola English Speech Competition. Jack was one of eighteen students invited to the March 24 Beijing finals out of over 10,000 participants across China. The only Shanghai representative invited to the finals, Jack’s award signifies sixth place in the overall competition.
Jack presented his final speech in front of 500 audience members at Peking University, including representatives from all the major Chinese media outlets and the CEOs of Coca-Cola and Lenovo’s China branch. An altruistic member of the NYU Shanghai community, Jack was disappointed that he did not get one place higher so that the NYU Shanghai name would appear on the competition’s website. At 18 years old and one of the few freshmen invited to Beijing, Jack’s accomplishments are an incredible testament to his intelligence and indicative of the potential for many more successes to come.
A core principle of NYU Shanghai’s educational philosophy is the idea that students must possess the skills necessary to communicate with and learn from people throughout the world. Vital to this pursuit is the ability to speak English, which is quickly becoming the world’s language. Chinese students who attend NYU Shanghai are challenged in English on a level unparalleled by any university in China. NYU Shanghai students are required to speak English in all classes, and practice outside of class with international classmates and roommates. Through this experience, NYU Shanghai students gain a fluency and comfort with English that cannot be attained through simple language study.
The focus on international communication creates a unique and diverse community that provides inspiration for students as they pursue their interests. As Jack notes “The life at NYU Shanghai sparked my thought about the great diversity in our school, which is totally distinct from other contestants' perspective on universities. Also, many amazing people I meet every day here made it so easy for me to raise vivid examples during my impromptu speech. I am truly grateful to NYU Shanghai for giving me huge inspiration every day I study and live here.”
Jack’s English ability is certainly exceptional, but the English language skills of every Chinese student at NYU Shanghai have vastly improved over the course of the first semester. By the time these students graduate, they will have a proficiency in English which will give them a distinct advantage in the local job market and allow them to pursue countless opportunities abroad.
As a first year institution, NYU Shanghai is extremely proud of Jack for validating one of the key educational missions of NYU Shanghai so early in the university’s existence, and for becoming a model representative of his student body. Perhaps the importance of this is best expressed in Jack’s own words, “This competition is constantly reminding me of one important thing- I am a student from NYU Shanghai, a unique and young university. When other people were asking me about my school with great curiosity, I could feel the responsibility on us- everyone from all fields at NYU Shanghai- to improve our school's image by improving ourselves as individuals, and cooperate as a whole, because we are forming this new school and we are making history.”