A day ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, NYU Shanghai hosted a “Flower Flash Mob” in the campus courtyard where roses and tulips were handed out to passersby, giving us the chance to chat with community members about everything from what they’re proud of, their female role models, future aspirations, and advice they have for their future selves. Here’s what we learned.
Ujin Boldbaatar ’26
“I’m proud of my gender. Every time I accomplish something, I accomplish it as a woman. I look up to my mom–she’s done a lot for me and raised me the most. In the future, I want to become a successful business woman. I want to be rich. Something I would tell my future self would be: ‘Don’t push yourself too hard.’”
Vickie Chen, Library Communications and Events Coordinator
“I'm proud that a lot of friends love me. I hope 10 years from now I will become more gracious, elegant, wise, and patient! I hope I’ll still be here, witnessing a lot of young women leaving this campus as leaders. A few women I admire are Japanese conductor Tomomi Nishimoto and a lot of the brave female missionaries who came to China in the early 20th century."
Guo Wei, Director of HR
“One thing I feel proud of is that I’ve been working hard and have achieved my goals at different stages of my life. I think gender is just a label. One can always create the life they want through diligence.”
Shi Yuxin ’25 (right)
“I’m proud of my resilience. I can push myself to extremes and can stay up late to do my homework, doing my best at everything just like my mom who always takes spare time from her work to care for me. I also look up to the female professors at this university. They’ve done a lot in their scholarship, in their classes, and in how they deal with students’ problems–they are like heroes!”
Cao Yiling ’25 (left)
"I have a lot of strength. Once I make up my mind, I try my best to do everything that I set out to do, and I think this has nothing to do with my gender but is more just about myself. I look up to my mom; she’s really brilliant and contributes a lot to my whole life and education. In the future, my goal is to have a good family and career balance so that I can take care of my parents while also making achievements in my career.”
Meng Zhang, Clinical Assistant Professor for the EAP Program
“One thing I’m proud of that makes up part of my identity is that I’m an accordion player, which keeps me active, energetic, and passionate about life. It’s something I’ve been doing for a long time and will keep doing. I’m also really proud of being a part of NYU Shanghai. This is a new identity for me. My female students are very positive about their lives and studies, and my colleagues are energetic and intelligent. I feel we’re in a closely-bonded community and the supportive atmosphere carries on into our everyday lives.”