Hello! I’m Andrew Hamilton, president of NYU, and it brings me great pride to say a few words to the magnificent NYU Shanghai Class of 2022.
Graduates, from the moment you entered into the world of scholarship, learning, and discovery that is NYU Shanghai, you have distinguished yourselves, as students, researchers, community leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.
Among you are the first cohort of PhD students, demonstrating the academic strength of this campus within the greater NYU community.
The Class of 2022 has risen to the top, garnering recognition as Schwarzman Scholars, taking home awards in national competitions, and excelling as athletes. And you will continue to make your mark as you pursue graduate and employment opportunities at leading institutions around the world.
Class of 2022, this is your day, and you have much to be proud of. You are graduating from a premier liberal arts college within a global research university.
I know the pandemic has upended your expectations of what your university years would entail, much less the final weeks. This has been a time of great difficulty that has tested your strength and resolve, and I commend you for maintaining your spirit, determination and sense of community.
I hope you can take with you the confidence that you achieved your goals and earned your degree during a time of significant upheaval. You deserve not only our recognition but our admiration for what you have accomplished.
And I can assure you each one of you has made the NYU community better by being part of it. So here is my charge to you: wherever your path takes you, whichever community you decide to join, make it better. Find ways small or big to make it more welcoming, more just, more efficient, more engaged.
If you keep doing that, your impact as NYU alumni will be unstoppable.
Class of 2022, you are the last class to graduate at NYU Shanghai's beloved Century Avenue campus. As we look forward to celebrating the 10-year anniversary and moving to the new Qiantan Campus, we hope you'll come back to see us often.
On behalf of everyone at NYU, warmest congratulations and our very best wishes!