The countdown has begun—NYU Shanghai’s Class of 2025 will be graduating in just 88 days! At last Friday’s 88上海 event, seniors celebrated this upcoming milestone and beloved tradition in a travel-themed day long event.
They spent the morning taking senior portraits and getting fitted for caps and graduation gowns. In the afternoon, seniors tried out interactive installations designed by their classmates. Later that evening, they enjoyed entertainment, speeches from leadership, and the signature countdown that ends with a toast to the graduating class!
The Senior Commencement Committee (SCC) put their creativity (and Interactive Media Art skills) to the test, designing a telephone booth installation that recorded audio to create a digital archive of the the Class of 2025’s personal reflections.
Students stepped in the booth to answer the phone and then responded to prompts about their favorite NYU Shanghai memories and stories. Sissy Li ’25, the SCC’s assistant director of marketing & creativity, says an important part of the experience for her fellow classmates was to be “situated in a comfortable setting where they can freely share thoughts without being recorded on camera.”
“We wanted people in our class to leave meaningful messages behind [so] we can have them stored as part of our legacy,” said Tania Hartano ’25, SCC director of marketing & creativity. “I am particularly excited about seeing our whole class in one space, because in the past our class had been separated due to COVID-19, and there weren’t many opportunities catered exclusively to our entire class,” added Li.
After reflecting on the past, students were invited to imagine their future. An immersive installation, "Live DiFuture,” generated on-the-spot AI images—turning participants into LEGO world-style ice cream makers to cyberpunk real estate agents, and allowing them to creatively explore career alternatives. Standing in front of the webcam produced instantaneous AI transformation (and lots of laughs) in a matter of seconds.
Creators Tracy Sun Chenxuan '25 and Andy Ye Jinran '25 began the project while studying away at NYU Abu Dhabi and expanded it upon returning to Shanghai and undertaking a Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund (DURF) project, advised by Assistant Arts Professor of Interactive Media Arts Jung Hyun Moon and Undergraduate Coordinator of Interactive Media Arts Leon Eckhert.
“Our current project gave me a chance to learn more about AI and also understand the logic and thinking behind it,” said Sun, who is currently a creative content designer at a 3D printing company and is exploring opportunities with AI investment companies.
“This project provides a stage for people to share their different but splendid university experiences, which is also full of infinite possibilities!” said Ye, who will join Xiaomi as a software developer after graduation and is currently working on a project that explores how algorithms are manipulated to impact our perception of the digital world. “It makes us feel a sense of accomplishment and achievement: seeing a project that we built on our own, using the knowledge that we have learned during our university life—this marks a perfect ending for our four-year university experience."
NYU Shanghai leaders addressed the Class of 2025 at the evening ceremony, each imparting their own wisdoms.
“Today is significant not only because of the milestone 88 days away—your graduation from NYU Shanghai—but also because it reminds you of how fleeting time is,” Chancellor Tong Shijun told the seniors. “It urges you to reflect: there is still time to do something truly meaningful, something that, if left undone, you might deeply regret by the time Commencement day arrives.”
“Your four years have been quite an adventure,” said Vice Chancellor Lehman, referring to the students’ experiences navigating the pandemic. But he reminded them to think ahead. “Think about the relationships you want to preserve,” he said. “Think about what you will need to do to keep them fresh even when you are living apart. And think also about the values and ideas you want to carry away from here as a part of who you are, but that you will always want to associate with NYU Shanghai.”
Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen encouraged students to take time to reflect on their past experiences, celebrate the present moment, and embrace the promise and unpredictabilities of the future.
“For you, a major part of your past experience was living through COVID lockdowns in Shanghai, not fun at the time but now distinctly in the rear view mirror, and a part of what has made you who you are today,” she said. “My message to you is to make the most of every single one of those days, as you complete the foundations on which you’ll build your future and consolidate the friendships that will sustain it.”
With graduation on the horizon, senior students are balancing their busy academic schedules with preparing for their lives post-graduation—facing the bittersweet realization that they’re a few months shy from parting from friends and faculty they’ve finally gotten to know in person.
“It feels super unreal, [with] mixed emotions that I will be graduating in the next two months,” Li said. “I wish I could spend more time at the Shanghai campus and spend more time with my friends, but regardless, I’m also excited for my next chapter after graduation!”
“We all come from so many different places, and we started our NYU Shanghai journeys differently, especially because of COVID,” Hartano said. “We were only able to kind of see our whole class together these last few semesters, and so leaving this school and having to say bye to people I’ve become so close to is a really heavy feeling for me. I hope that this next part of our life will bring exciting adventures for everyone! This has been the best time in my life, and I’m glad that everyone has been a part of my journey.”
