The NYU Abu Dhabi campus is abuzz with the start of a new semester, and with that comes the incoming Class of 2028 who are preparing to embark on their college journey.
To help ease the transition, ten alumni have come together to offer their wisdom, guidance, and share valuable insights on navigating the challenges and opportunities that college life presents.
From tips on balancing academics with social life to advice on building lasting relationships and seizing internships, their collective experiences offer a roadmap for success.
As they reflect on their own journeys, these alumni hope to inspire the next generation of students to make the most of their time at NYUAD and to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead.
Jude Al Gergawi, Social Research and Public Policy
I found out about NYUAD through my sister who graduated from here in 2018. The advice my sister gave me was to dream big. She said that NYU Abu Dhabi gives you the tools, it gives you the facilities to be able to take on that next dream and to take the steps in order to achieve the dream. So, dream big and take the risk.
James Xu, Economics
Being somewhere exciting often comes with some challenges as well. So I know a lot of people say the moment they step on campus they feel like they just adapt right through or it feels like home. But I want to tell the incoming class that it's okay to not feel that way.
There are going to be bumps and challenges for you to adapt to on campus. But I think the most important thing is to embrace those difficulties and those challenges. In the end of the day you’ve picked a distinct experience from what you've got somewhere else. And those are going to be the experiences that will be memories you can talk about when you're much older.
For the incoming students, be brave, be confident, and just embrace the difference.
Saideep Sreekumar, Electrical Engineering
Worry less about being a busy bee and try to enjoy NYUAD from the very start. I think finding your community and discovering your passions is important to focus on from freshman year.
I'm grateful to have found more about my passions here. I did engineering, but I have an appreciation for the arts, I enjoy reading a lot, I enjoy writing, and I enjoy learning more about literature and history. I've come to terms with the fact that you don't need to be good at them to enjoy them as passions. So find your passions, and embrace the journey!
Rawia Mosleh, Economics
Come here with an open mind. Don't expect that people are going to be same as you. You're going to have, some of the most transformative discussions of your lives. You're going to go through experiences that genuinely restructure your personality and restructure the way you think about certain things.
This place was built so that you can interact with people from around the world, so you can grow together, and so you can share your knowledge with others. So if you come in and you're not willing to do that, then what's the point of this institution?
You can learn from everyone. Talk to people, ask about their family stories, their backgrounds, their culture, what brought them to the UAE. This also helps you connect more with the UAE and the city of Abu Dhabi itself and campus or Saadiyat in specific. So come here with an open mind.
Beniamin Strzelecki, Civil Engineering
My word of advice for the students is to stay in touch with students. I think NYU Abu Dhabi is a place that changes really fast, and it's definitely worth it to keep a pulse on how the University used to be, to be able to get ideas of what you can hope for, or what you can expect for your time here. And I think it's a cliche but explore classes or areas of interest outside of your course focus.
Marium Shahzain, Psychology, English Literature and Creative Writing
If I had to say one thing to an incoming student it would be to try to go off campus, there’s a lot to see out there. I think going out there really helps because everyone is working and studying in the same space so it can get a little repetitive but there’s so much to discover. Go to the Corniche, go study at a cafe, go explore, and you’ll find Abu Dhabi has so much to offer.
Also join different SIGs. I was not a dancer and then I joined Attitude. I worked with The Gazelle for a bit. I was with the Pakistan Student association for a couple of semesters, I worked with Community Outreach. So that really helps you discover what’s happening around campus. You will find your space with different people and I think that’s beautiful in a small community like this.
Abdulla Almarzooqi, Business, Organization and Society
Don't limit yourself. Explore. Everyone tells you that at the beginning, but because you're at a new place and everything is new to you, it’s easy to naturally revert back to what you're good at. That’s what I did for my first year, I had done economics and business in high school, and so I majored in Economics.
But then I realized in sophomore year, maybe I want more, maybe I want something completely different. Fast forward four years, and now I am doing my Master’s in history.
When people tell you to explore, they have good reason to give you that advice.
Anne-Maria Salmela, Economics
My words of wisdom for the incoming classes is to explore everything that interests you and not be afraid to make mistakes, specifically for the career-oriented freshman. Many people are asking me, I want to be ‘X’ five years from now. What course should I take now or what internship should I do now? I don't think you should be solving for those types of things, but you should be solving for what innately makes you curious now? Does it make you happy now? Do that rather than planning too far into the future