Shanghai New York University 2023 undergraduate students embark on their university journey, welcoming "cute new" students on the front beach campus for the first time
Recently, New York University's Foreshore Campus in Shanghai welcomed the first "Moe Xin" event. At the grand and enthusiastic 2023 undergraduate opening ceremony, over 400 new students from all over the world, both domestic and foreign, officially embarked on their university journey.
This is the first undergraduate opening ceremony held by the University of New York at the new campus in Qiantan. The theme of this year's opening ceremony and welcome week is "Qi", combined with the theme word "Cheng" for 2022, symbolizing the relocation of Shanghai New York University to a new location on the occasion of the tenth year of its founding, and opening a new chapter in the next decade.
The wonderful song and dance performances of 36 new ambassadors kicked off the opening ceremony of the school year. David Pe, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs at the University of New York, sends his sincerest wishes to the new students. "Please look around and remember your seats today. When you put on your graduation gowns in four years, I hope you still remember where you are today." He led his classmates to practice deep breathing, hoping that they would learn to relax when under too much pressure and understand that "the process is often more important than the end".
Raymond, Executive Vice President and US President of Shanghai New York University, presented two "brochures" to 2023 freshmen: the first brochures were "spending two hours every day actively talking or doing things with people from different cultural backgrounds, and persevering"; The second tip is to "learn to master the art of handling differences." Raymond told freshmen that people with differences can come together, listen to each other with tolerance and respect, and build connections, which has always been the spirit upheld by the University of New York. Li Jianing, a 2023 freshman from Shanghai, is excited and nervous about the upcoming college life. She firmly remembers these two tips and decides to take practical actions in her college life for the next four years.
"Remember 'do not do to others what you do not want to do to yourself', as it will help improve personal cultivation and promote harmony in group relationships." Wei Zhou'an, Dean of Academic Affairs at New York University in Shanghai, quoted the famous quote of Confucius, suggesting that new students should not only focus on understanding others and avoiding stereotypes, but also strive to explore themselves. This is very inspiring for Phuenfah Orakorn, a 2023 freshman from Thailand. His expectation for the next four years is to "step out of his comfort zone, see a different world, learn Chinese well, and have a deeper understanding of China.".
Tong Shijun, the President of Shanghai New York University, shared the topic of growth from a philosopher's perspective. Facing the freshmen who have already entered or are about to enter adulthood, he said, "A truly healthy person is someone who has grown from the stage of 'dogmatism' and 'skepticism' to the stage of 'rationalism', and 'rationalism' is someone who is willing to listen to the voice of reason and accept discipline based solely on reason." He quoted Haruki Murakami's words to encourage freshmen, "Pain is hard to avoid, but hardships can be chosen. 'The essence of adulthood or maturity lies in the ability to make rational decisions in the face of many choices given by others."
Anna Miller, a girl from the United States, learned Chinese from a young age, but it was her first time coming to China. At the opening ceremony, the speeches of the principal and the dean left a deep impression on her. She said she will always remember why she came here and embark on a new journey of exploring Shanghai and China.
This week, Shanghai New York University prepared a one week welcome event for the 2023 freshmen. The welcoming ambassador team composed of senior students will accompany the whole process, organize exciting activities to help new students quickly "break the ice" and meet friends, carry out cross-cultural communication and exchange, and make full preparations for the smooth start of university studies and campus life. Among them, the first launched "Qilin Celebration" and "Qilin Forum" will provide a platform for freshmen to quickly understand campus resources and cultivate team spirit.
Text: Fu Jia
This article is reproduced from the "Pudong Release" WeChat official account
