Class of 2026, faculty, administrators and staff, trustees, families, and friends:
It is my deep honor to be with you today, as we celebrate this significant milestone.
When we come together with a common purpose, something extraordinary happens: energy and emotion multiply. Our individual feelings expand when we experience them together.
Sociologists call this “collective effervescence.”
A concert where you get caught up in singing along.
A sporting event where you lose your voice cheering.
Or the pride you may be feeling here—at this very instant.
Experiences become more meaningful when we do them together.
Studies show that we laugh harder at movies when we’re with each other in theaters than when we’re watching alone at home. We enjoy our meals more when we share them. Even chocolate tastes better when we eat it with others.
When we are together, our senses expand. And when we feel like a small part of something grand, we reach outward—to connect.
This is how we find meaning, live lives bigger than ourselves, and cultivate resilience.
As NYU Shanghai graduates, you make up some of the brightest, most cosmopolitan students in the world. You have acquired skills that set you apart—encounters that distinguish you.
Connection and community are more important than ever. And you now lead the way.
I can’t think of a more capable group to take us all into the future.
On this special day, my sincerest congratulations to you: the NYU Shanghai Class of 2026.