Rachel Sun Yunzhe '23 at Commencement 2023

President Hamilton, Chancellor Tong, Vice-Chancellor Lehman, respected faculty, distinguished guests, family and friends, and the fellow members of the Class of 2023 around the world, welcome:

Finally here we are. Under the cloud of COVID-19, we can stand in our New Bund Campus and excitedly announce “We are graduating! We showed our resilience with faith and went through four years of ups and downs together!”

The moment that motivated me to write these words was when my mom said, “上了NYUSH后你变化好大/ You changed a lot after you went to NYU Shanghai.” I was shocked for a few seconds, and replied: “No, Mom, I didn’t change at all. I am just exploring myself. I am just trying to figure out who I am and never hesitate to do what I believe in.” And yeah, NYU Shanghai provides me with the ability to develop both interests and personality because of the critical thinking and the attitude of inclusiveness it cultivates.

Who am I? I always dreamed of being a scientist who studies how the brain works. Especially emotions. I experienced mania, I am depressed, I feel warmed. So many emotions squeezed into this tiny brain, and I wonder how emotions are generated. To achieve this goal, I planned out a perfect four-year academic plan. Then we all know what happened. COVID disrupted my plan, totally, and my journey at NYU Shanghai turned into a different direction.

Many of us ended up at a different global study site than we had planned--so did I. Due to the nature of NYU Shanghai, I believe that at some point, we have all landed in a new city, country, or even culture. My friend joked that we are “international orphans.” We might not know who to trust, we might face discrimination ——“呦，你看那有个老外.” “Go back to your country!” However, just as “Make the World Your Major” says, we strive to adapt to new environments, learn new languages, and make new friends.

After four years, Shanghai is no longer solely a financial hub; it is the balance of beauty between the old and the modern along the Huangpu River, it is the bizarre feeling of “in-between-city-ness,” and it is the solidarity during the lockdown in February, 2022. Abu Dhabi is no longer a simple symbol of “richness and oil.” It’s a kind and diverse city where a little girl in a black gown, blinking her eyes, asked me, “Can we be friends?” And New York. Even a taxi driver in Beijing asked me with curiosity, “呦，这纽约挺危险吧？(New York is dangerous, right?)” However, I saw the charming part of New York: this city impartially embraces almost everyone. This inclusive spirit extends to NYU, and extends to the global study sites around the world.

As senior students, we are used to burying ourselves in completing projects, looking for internships, and planning the future. Nevertheless, in the darkest moment, it is our peers who have our backs. Such as when I lived in New York alone and applied for graduate programs, my friends hugged me, and said, “We are family. We always support each other.” I was speechless and crying.

When looking back, I still have no words to express my gratitude. Then I hear a voice talking to me in my brain, “How ironic, silly girl, you want to study emotions but didn’t even admit, accept, and give the deepest, the most powerful and intricate value of humanity, love.” Now I know what love is from my neuroscience classes. By definition, it can be a sense of security through social interaction and connection, formed by the releasing of neurochemicals, such as oxytocin from the hypothalamus and dopamine from the amygdala.

Aside from this scientific part, it was at NYU Shanghai where I experienced that love can truly eliminate the difference between genders, ages, countries, races, religions, and cultures. No matter what I will pick as my career, no matter what kind of life I will lead in the future, I will always keep the value of love in mind.

This is my life philosophy that I learned from NYU Shanghai. I am sure yours are thoughtful and splendid. NYU Shanghai has given us a lens to know other cultures, and even to better understand human beings. Everyone at NYU Shanghai has guided us in their own unique way to learn and explore the unknown. Most importantly, thank you to all of the families and friends, thank you for always supporting us. I know all of our hard work will pay off. I can’t wait to see what we can create for the world. Class of 2023. 以梦为马，不负韶华。