Choosing to go to the same school as your sibling might seem too close for comfort for some, but for these NYU Shanghai siblings, sharing a campus with family has become a source of support, growth, and connection.
He came to Shanghai, and the whole family followed
When Enes Sissenbi left his home in Kazakhstan to attend NYU Shanghai, he had no idea that two years later, the rest of his family would pick up their lives and follow him to Shanghai.
Although Enes hadn’t originally planned to study in China, he found he loved it, and after sharing his experiences majoring in Interactive Media and Business with his younger sister, Elnara, she decided to apply. . “He told me about a lot of opportunities here and that the Interaction Lab is really fun and has a creativity and innovation component,” she recalled. While Enes has since switched majors to Computer Engineering, Elnara is set off on the IMB pathOne semester into her first year, Elnara (and Enes) saythey couldn’t imagine it any other way.
But it wasn’t just Elnara who followed Enes to Shanghai. In August 2025, the entire Sissenbi family uprooted their life inKazakhstan and headed to Shanghai too. Within five days of arriving on campus for the fall semester, Enes was using the Chinese skills he gained in the Summer Chinese Language Immersion Program to get his family settled in, including finding them an apartment and a school for their younger brother. “Everything we learned suddenly became real,” Enes says. “I felt proud that I could actually use my knowledge to help my family.”
Both aspiring content creators, the siblings support each other by regularly reviewing each other’s content. They step up to come to each other’s rescue in class too. During a class they took together, Actions and Gestures, Elena forgot key materials for a class presentation and Enes stepped in without hesitation to save the day. It’s small actions like these that make going to the same university with a sibling worthwhile, he says. “Who else could you call family but those who you trust?”
The school that stays in the family
For the Berat family, NYU Shanghai has become a family tradition. Seniors Lane and Landry Berat, who with their sister are triplets, grew up hearing stories from their older siblings Lindsay Berat ’19 and Lee Berat ’23. Mandarin was always a priority in their family—their mother enrolled the nine siblings in a bilingual Mandarin/English school in Manhattan, and weekend Mandarin school, and the family traveled to China every summer. Lane and Landry’s triplet, Langley, attends Mount Holyoke College in the US, but she is currently spending a semester studying abroad in China and the three have enjoyed being all together again.
Throughout their time in Shanghai and abroad, the siblings have had many opportunities to spend time together—sometimes too much, Landry jokes. While they and their older sister Lee were all at NYU Shanghai, the sisters would hang out till all hours of the day and night. Do they ever regret it? “I’d choose to go to school with my siblings every time,” Landry said. Lane added: “It’s just nice to have someone there.” During their time at NYU Shanghai, the two have played soccer and attended Chinese conversation nights together. But more importantly, the two are always there for each other emotionally. “During our first year, there were a lot of big changes, and so having someone to turn to and having someone to relate to was nice,” Lane said. “At the end of the day, you always know you have someone,” Landry added. “I feel like it's always good to have someone you can be 100 percent honest with.”
Bringing out the best in each other
“We work in collaboration, not in competition,” says Daniel Woc ’26 about his relationship with his younger sister Amelie Woc ’28, something their parents instilled in them from childhood. Growing up in Guatemala together, the two knew their dad, originally from Shunde, Guangzhou hoped they would connect with the Chinese side of their family and learn Chinese. Hoping to learn more about his roots, Daniel applied early decision i, and, he says, “the rest was history.” In contrast, Amelie thought long and hard whether to apply to NYU Shanghai. “At first I didn’t want to apply because I wanted to give him space,” she says. “I was scared I was going to end up comparing my experience, grades, and friends to him. Finally she made the decision to apply, thinking, “He's thriving here. So why can't I?”
Amelie learned to forge her own identity in her first year while Daniel was studying away in New York. In Fall 2025, he returned and the two learned their knack for collaboration makes them a great team. . When it came time to apply for student government roles, Daniel ended up as Amelie’s assistant on the Events team. Even outside of school, the two get along well. Daniel said Amelie balances him out and has taught him not to take things too seriously. “I get caught up in my own head sometimes, but even when she's stressed, she'll still put things down to help her close friends,” he says.
While the two siblings have experienced two very different Shanghais, with Daniel arriving during the COVID-19 pandemic to the Century Avenue campus and Amelie arriving in 2023 to the New Bund campus, the two have each managed to make NYU Shanghai their own.
As Daniel prepares to graduate this year, the two cherish their time together on campus. “It’s not just because we're from the same family (that we get along),” says Amelie. “We choose to maintain our friendship and sibling-ship because he feels like a friend to me.”