On May 16, NYU Shanghai held its 10th commencement ceremony, conferring degrees on 524 undergraduate students and 164 graduate students from 46 countries and regions, including 381 Chinese students representing 30 provinces. Some 2,000 families and friends traveled from around the world to mark the occasion, watching the graduates walk across the campus quad as they prepared to begin the next chapter of their lives. This year also marked the first time the University held joint undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies.
A cherished commencement tradition opened the ceremony as Adriana Giménez Romera ’26 and banner bearer Makayla Hsieh ’26 led the ceremonial procession. Later onstage, Adriana passed the NYU torch to Zandrea Xi ’27, a symbolic gesture representing the continuity of academic purpose and the passing of stewardship from one graduating class to the next.
Acclaimed actor, director, and author Joan Chen served as this year’s commencement speaker. After receiving the NYU Shanghai Chancellor’s Medal of Honor from Chancellor Tong Shijun, Chen addressed the graduates. She encouraged students to look beyond conventional definitions of happiness and instead cultivate an inner life enriched by literature, nature, wonder, and love. Drawing on her own experiences through hardship and achievement, she urged graduates to preserve their curious inner child,and remain open to beauty and emotional vulnerability in an unpredictable world. “Find what enchants you,” she told the graduates, “what sustains you spiritually -- what allows you to merge with your destiny.”
Chen closed her address with a heartfelt call to live fully:
“Fall in love,” she said. “With the sun and moon, with rivers and fish, with mountains and animals. Intensely. Deeply. Again and again.”
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students David Pe introduced this year’s student speakers, who spoke on behalf of the undergraduate and graduate Class of 2026, respectively.
In her speech, Fatima Zahra Foutouh ’26 traced her journey that began with arriving in Shanghai knowing only one word in Chinese and ended four years later having gained far more than a degree: a sense of home, resilience, and belonging. Highlighting the friendships, faculty support, and global opportunities that shaped the NYU Shanghai experience, Fatima said that the most difficult challenges were often internal – learning to confront self-doubt and keep moving forward through uncertainty and exhaustion.
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will,” she reminded classmates. “We didn’t come this far to only come this far. This is not our finish line. This is our starting point.”
Graduate student representative Maotou Zhou, MS ’26 expressed his gratitude to the many people, including faculty, staff, friends, and family members who have sustained the Class of 2026 and who acted as “guiding stars” to illuminate their path forward. He urged his classmates to stay connected, pursue meaningful work, and remember that uncertainty is part of growth. As he put it, “stars don’t move the ship or your feet for you, but they can give you direction.”
“When times feel uncertain, look up to the light that guides you,” he said in his closing remarks. “When someone else is lost, be the light that guides them.”
In their remarks to the graduating class, NYU Shanghai leaders talked about the significance of commencement and the opportunities that await the University’s newest alumni.
Chancellor Tong Shijun referenced the recent space missions of China and the US as reminders that real learning comes from reaching beyond the familiar and seeing “the other side” of things.
“Leave this campus with confidence, but also with humility,” he said. “Carry with you what you have learned here, but keep it open to correction, expansion, and transformation elsewhere.”
Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman encouraged graduates to engage thoughtfully with modern technology while continuing to exercise their skills of critical thinking and rational inquiry. “Read things that you cannot finish in one sitting,” he advised them. “That is the way to preserve and protect your intellect, your ability to think carefully and rationally.”
Provost Bei Wu drew on her work in gerontology, reminding graduates that setbacks are not detours from growth but part of the process that makes people stronger. “Take the hit. Let the old version go,” she urged the graduates. “Stay curious about what happens next. … Your failures are not your identity. They are your tuition.”
NYU President Linda G. Mills and NYU Board of Trustees Chair Evan Chesler brought greetings from New York. President Mills emphasized the importance of connection and community, telling the Class of 2026 that shared experience is what deepens joy, pride, and resilience, especially in a world that increasingly needs connection. “You have acquired skills that set you apart – encounters that distinguish you,” she said. “And you now lead the way.”
Following the formal ceremony, lively celebrations on the University quad sent off the Class of 2026 in a spirit of joy and violet pride, featuring performances by NYU Shanghai’s a cappella group and student vocalists, along with traditional folk dance performances. The evening concluded with a commencement gala for the NYU Shanghai Class of 2026.
On Sunday, Deans David G. Atwill, Chen Yuxin, and Nasir Memon will preside over degree conferral ceremonies for the Arts and Sciences, Business, and Computer Science, Data Science, and Engineering academic areas.
Throughout commencement weekend, graduates, families, and members of the wider NYU Shanghai community gather at Grad Alley at nearby Qiantan Red Lane, extending the celebration beyond the formal ceremonies and into the surrounding neighborhood with performances and interactive games. Continuing a beloved commencement tradition, special light shows illuminated the Oriental Pearl Tower on Thursday evening and Qiantan Center on Saturday evening.
As members of the Class of 2026 move on from NYU Shanghai, they embark on a wide range of exciting next steps. Many will pursue advanced study at leading universities, including Harvard University, MIT, NYU, University of Oxford, and Tsinghua University, or have been selected for prestigious opportunities, including the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, the Schwarzman Scholarship, and the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. Others will begin professional careers at major global organizations including Adidas, AlphaSights, Amazon, Deloitte, Estée Lauder, HSBC, L’Oréal, Microsoft, PwC, Shiseido, Trip.com, and Visa. Wherever their paths lead, they carry forward the knowledge, values, and experiences they gained at NYU Shanghai, prepared to make meaningful contributions around the world.
