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Students Honored for Academic Excellence and Community Building

Ritu Muralidharan (Class of 2018) accepts her NYU President's Service Award from NYU President Andrew Hamilton. ©NYU Photo Bureau

NYU Abu Dhabi students received many global awards and grants in 2015-16 in recognition of both academic excellence and contributions to their communities.

Highlights include:

Rhodes Scholar

Computer engineering major Farah Shamout (Class of 2016) will attend Oxford University in September and is NYUAD's sixth Rhodes Scholar.

Three Fulbright Scholars

Sara Bahermez became the first Emirati from NYUAD to be awarded a Fulbright scholarship and will attend graduate school at Towson University in Maryland, US. Fellow 2016 graduates Samia Ahmed and Zoe Hu were also awarded Fulbright grants to attend McGill University in Canada and Morocco's Al Akhawayn University, respectively.

Yenching Scholars

Olivia Bergen (Class of 2015) and Veronica Houk (Class of 2016) both won the prestigious Yenching Scholarship to study in China.

I had the chance to meet some current Yenching students, and similar to my peers in Abu Dhabi, their intelligence and proactivity is extraordinarily impressive.

Veronica Houk, Yenching Scholar, Class of 2016

NYU President's Service Awards

NYU's annual President’s Service Awards honor the distinguished civic and leadership achievements of students across the University's global network.

  • Ritu Muralidharan (Class of 2018, pictured above with NYU President Andrew Hamilton) co-founded the Girls' Education Network and also received the 2015 Dalai Lama Fellowship.
  • Sofia Gomez-Doyle (Class of 2017) co-founded the Girls' Education Network and also received the 2015 Dalai Lama Fellowship.
  • Dana Al Hosani (Class of 2018) volunteers at the Future Centre for Special Needs in Abu Dhabi and is an intern at NYUAD's Office of Community Outreach.

Future Global Leaders

Munachiso Nwadike (Class of 2019) has been accepted into the Future Global Leaders Fellowship for first-year students, an internationally competitive three-year fellowship for aspiring leaders committed to building a better world.

I am sure that being a part of Future Global Leaders will help Munachiso continue to develop as a leader and scholar, and that he will benefit greatly from the leadership activities, internships, and professional mentoring that this program includes.

NYUAD Director of Global Awards Doug Cutchins

Dalai Lama Fellowship

Garreth Chan (Class of 2017) received the 2016 Dalai Lama Fellowship for his work with NYU Abu Dhabi campus employees. Chan will use the award to pursue a project called Artist Family, which aims to use art as a way to build communities and strengthen relationships among migrant workers who come to Abu Dhabi from all over the world.

Chan said: "My end goal for the project is to expand it beyond the UAE to the Gulf region. I hope for our society to understand that the arts hold an enormous power in community building."