Star-studded ceremony for NYUAD 2015 graduates

141 students graduate; RAK Ruler and ministers attend ceremony

Abu Dhabi - “The world has become 141 people more cosmopolitan,” said Kimberly Kathleen Rodriguez during an emotional speech at the graduation ceremony of the 2015 batch of the New York University — Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).

She was one of the 141 NYUAD students to graduate on Sunday, during a ceremony attended by His Highness Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah; Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development; former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Graça Machel, the widow of Nelson Mandela.

The ceremony was also attended by the students’ parents and relatives, many of whom travelled to Abu Dhabi from as far as the US, India, China, Romania or Jordan.

“We were making bets about how well our families will get along, coming from so many different cultural backgrounds,” joked Kimberly.

Valuing cultures and individuality, but standing against racism was at the forefront of NYUAD commencement ceremony of class 2015. The university itself is a melting pot of nationalities with 60 per cent of its students from the US, 12 per cent Emiratis and the rest from 105 different nations. The 2015 graduates alone come from 53 different countries, ranging from Australia, Chile, Korea and Bosnia to Ethiopia, Iran, Germany and Yemen.

Collectively, the class of 2015 has already been accepted in more than 70 master’s and doctoral programmes in disciplines spanning astrophysics, dance, economics, engineering, nuclear chemistry, literature, psychology, social work and speech pathology, and to medical and law schools such as Harvard, the London School of Economics, NYU, Oxford, Princeton, Stanford and Yale. Several graduating students have already received job offers from renowned local and global companies and public sector employers, the likes of The Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, J.Walter Thompson, Citibank, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan and Der Spiegel.

“Choosing NYUAD was not a difficult decision for me because I believed in the vision. I saw merit in the idea of bringing in people from all over the world — over 100 nationalities so far — to peacefully live together and learn together,” said Hamel Al Qubaisi, one of the Emirati graduates.

Hamel is one of the two students of class 2015 to receive a Rhodes scholarship, regarded as the most prestigious scholarships in the world, offered only to exceptional students, to pursue further studies at the Oxford University.

Two Rhodes Scholarships in one academic year is unprecedented, but both Abu Dhabi and New York campuses of NYU are notorious for being some of the most selective higher education institutions worldwide. Only 3.3 per cent of those who applied for NYUAD class of 2015 were accepted for admission.

Among the first to congratulate the fresh graduates was Shaikh Nahyan. “We commonly attribute wisdom to old age; perhaps we enjoy being young and foolish,” said Shaikh Nahyan.

“Perhaps your professors have become your model of wisdom. Personally, I always marvelled at the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s wisdom, who said that education is like a lantern to light your way in a dark alley.”

“Like you, he started early in life to acquire wisdom and by the age of 53 he unified the UAE.”

“In order to be wise you have to take risks, be different and don’t be afraid to fail,” added Shaikh Nahyan.

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also looked at ancient Rome for inspiration, as this is where the idea of globalisation or an inter-dependent world was first formed.

“Who is to say that years from now an NYUAD student won’t say ‘I’m a graduate of NYUAD and a proud citizen of the world,” said Brown.

It is customary for great teachers, alongside famous leaders to give advice to fresh university graduates. Follow your dreams, take risks, do good, aim high, embrace those reaching out for help, is usually the type of advice graduates receive, and NYUAD’s class of 2015 was no different, except for Brown, who wished to add a lesser heard advice.

“I urge you to think of the great classical virtue that we rarely speak of today of service to the community. My experience is that you will find true happiness not in hedonism, but in humbly helping others. My experience is that you will find true satisfaction not in self-indulgence, but in a lifetime of selfless-service to your communities. My experience is that your strength will be demonstrated not by being better than others or triumphing over others, but in subjugating your own personal desires to some of the great causes of our time,” he said.— silvia@khaleejtimes.com

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