“What is NYU Shanghai?”If you are like me, and I could only assume you are, it is a question, whose answer you’ve rehearsed:“It’s NYU, New York University, but in Shanghai, China. A Sino-American University, half of its student body is made up of students from Mainland China, half from the rest of the world. It is one of NYU’s three portal campuses along with New York and Abu Dhabi. Yes- I will study all four years there…. except for when I study away. We have a study away requirement. I may be gone for one semester or two, maybe three, but yes, most of it is in China.”And you’ve probably practiced this recitation, so many times you recite it in your sleep, or rather the food-based coma you often find yourself in at those family gatherings, when your family, extended or nuclear, still doesn’t quite understand and you have to explain it to them yet again.

https://media.riffsy.com/images/95288c6f0323c13bce1c2ae5463f3489/rawFor us, this answer is easy because we’ve been here. We understand it more than anyone ever could for we’ve tasted the sour times and the sweet, the spicy and the bland, the flavors that have made this, this. And for some of us, rather sadly, it is almost over. Our time in the kitchen is about to expire and so it is time to start thinking how do we let others, whether they are loved ones or spectators, haters or hopefuls, taste what we’ve made. How can they 吃一吃 an experience, like this? And, perhaps more importantly for those about to make our exit, what do we want our final taste to be?

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I’m not one that usually likes to think of the end of things, especially an experience that has been as transformative as this, but as the Class of 2017 Representative, I’ve been tasked over the summer to start brainstorming the organization of the 2017 Commencement Committee. This Committee will pair up with the administration to decide how we present our first graduating class to the world we’ve made our major. It will take a stab at answering once and for all “What is NYU Shanghai?” Because of this, this committee will have to make hard decisions. It is a committee that will not only plan the final ceremony, but also the final activities for the Class of 2017 and their guests. It will have to contribute to the discussion of what kind of student speakers we want, how they will be selected, and what we want to emphasize about our experience, whether that is China, our international community, or a hybrid of both. It will propose a means to fairly distribute additional tickets, if they exist. It will decide what kind of activities will celebrate the bond between the Class of 2017 internally and with other classes. And yes, it will also design those activities that I’m sure will have me ugly crying into the shoulders of my friends, as we remember the time we’ve spent together.

http://i.imgur.com/g4qeS.gifAs this experience has been important, this committee is too. And the decisions they will make are ones that will affect us all and thus it is not one that cannot be made singularly, but as a community that has worked on this together. With that said, if you have any ideas about how the Committee should be formed or more general ideas that you’d like to be submitted to the Committee once it is formed, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. It is my hope to have a drafted proposal for the committee open for comment to the student body soon. Until then, keep cooking my friends! This article was written by Tyler Rhorick. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: shanghai.nyu.edu