Where it All Began: Students Trek Through Past Lives of NYU Shanghai Alumni

What was life like for NYU Shanghai’s first class of students ten years ago, when they arrived at the gates of the East China Normal University (ECNU) campus, ready to embark on their college journey? About 30 current students and six Resident Assistants (RAs) spent a day trekking into the past, exploring various corners of ECNU’s campus in teams of six with the guidance of maps and itineraries based on actual routines of alumni spanning different majors.

The ECNU tour, “Where it All Began,” marked a long-awaited comeback of “The Series,” a curated event series by NYU Shanghai Residential Life that began in 2016 as an enrichment program to get students beyond their residence halls and involved in meaningful activities and trips across Shanghai and beyond. Over the years, ResLife has organized city-wide scavenger hunts, camping and hiking trips, and even a tattoo workshop. The recent tour was the first event of “The Series” since its three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. 

"With covid the past few years, I never had much time to explore China,” said Luna Lopez ’23 from Arizona, US. “I loved being able to see what a normal school looks like, appreciating even the old wooden doors that seem standard for all Chinese classrooms."

^{Students pose by the first NYU Shanghai sign on the front of Geography Building, where the NYU-ECNU joint research institutes are located.}

Branching off into groups, students retraced imagined pathways of actual NYU Shanghai alumni including a math major who played soccer and piano, a neural science major who would take walks along the Liwa River, a computer science major who liked to meditate in a small garden after tennis matches, and an IMA major who would swim at the school pool and make snack runs to the local Family Mart convenience store.

^{1. Students pose during their tour of the ECNU campus. 2. Legend has it that the ECNU cafeteria remains top quality.}

From the library to research labs, over bridges and through pagodas, they discovered landmarks and everyday spaces that were important to former NYU Shanghaiers. They even dined in the cafeteria.

"Students really enjoyed the lunchtime conversations with ECNU students," said Residence Hall Director Siwen Li. "There were good conversations going nonstop, so we invited the ECNU students to join us later for cupcake making and gave them some of our program t-shirts as a memento of the time we shared together."

The Series–each of which are planned by the RAs–has a learning outcome, said Li. "The core idea behind these events is that going on a regular guided tour in the city versus going with us is totally different," said Li. "With us, you get the RA's vision and their idea of the program. This weekend’s event is a salsa dance session and a dinner. In April, we'll have a guided city photo walk with disposable cameras, and later when the weather is a bit nicer, we’ll be going to a beach in Jinshan."

^{Students visit favorite alumni hangout spots.}

^{Students decorate cupcakes together for a sweet ending to their day of exploration.}

Watch a recap of "Where it All Began" in the “The Series” vlog.