The faculty, staff and students alike were all unbelievable spectacular. A thing I really admire about NYUAD is its intimate nature towards its prospective candidates. In high school, teachers remain teachers…and students remain students – furthermore, they tend to group themselves into cliques, stubbornly refusing to mingle with anyone outside their ‘comfort zone’. Yet in NYUAD, the ease at which we were able to interact with the faculty and our fellow candidates was something that really touched me. Never before have I seen such an easy-going, welcoming nature amongst a group of total strangers!

As for the desert trip…well, you can’t get much better than that, can you? The starry skies, cool winter breezes and the pungent tinge of arab coffee imbued into the air created the perfect night for (a) Darina’s birthday (which I’m sure she enjoyed to the fullest) and (b) the paradigmatic memory of NYUAD which will live in the memory for a quite a while.

Thank you once again, to all the faculty, staff and students who made this dream of an experience a life-changing one for me.

I just got word of this blog and it seems like a great way we can all have conversation regarding our experience at the Candidate Weekend. Not only do I share the sentiments above, but I also feel that NYU Abu Dhabi will quickly set a precedent for an unparalleled campus life, both due to its diversity and location.

If a three-day interaction can help us all learn so much about each other and ourselves through the perspectives of others, I can only imagine how gratifying a 4-year undergraduate experience at NYU AD would be. For all of us who were fortunate enough to experience Professor Kersh’s Public Policy and Democracy class, I think the experience showed us the unique atmosphere for learning that the school will provide its students. As an activity in the class, we each recalled our first vivid political memory. Although I was excited to share my unique experience of meeting Bill Clinton in elementary school, other classmates shared political experiences from all around the world, far different from the American dynamic of politics.

The class helped me realize the potential for liberal arts at Abu Dhabi. With all of you guys, our classes would be so much more insightful and informative. For me, my passion for Model UN will really be introduced to a global perspective with delegates not only acting on country positions they have memorized, but actually being young diplomats from the countries they are representing.

As you can see, I’m really excited about studying at Abu Dhabi, but even more so about living out the liberal arts college experience there. I feel we all have certain passions – for me, Model United Nations, Nonprofit work, and political involvement- and I am confident that we all can extend these passions into making Abu Dhabi a competitive and distinguished institution.

You all have been really great. It’s amazing how personally I’ve gotten to know you all, considering the relatively short period for which we met. I hope that most, if not all of us, have the additional privilege of attending NYU AD next year and defining the college experience it will be known for.

All the best,

Waqaas

I read what all of you have written, and I cannot disagree with anything said. I can only say that even 3 days in NYU AD transformed me utterly (“Easter 1916″ – some Yeats’ fans here?:) I cannot imagine what will happen if I have the great opportunity to study there.

One thing I really wanted to share with you is related to my birthday. I spent my 18th birthday (in Bulgaria this is when you are considered to become an adult) with about 40 people, almost strangers to me, at the top of hill in a desert, thousands of kilometers away from my home. I cannot but think of this night in a symbolic way. You people did not even really know me, and yet you were singing “Happy Birthday” to me. I felt like the whole world was greeting me, welcoming me in my future. I cannot describe this feeling, the strongest I have ever had in my life. Climbing up the hill all together, striving to reach the top, looking at the stars, dancing together – all seemed to me like a sacred ritual…an initiation. It was really awkward. Now that I am thinking of it, this seems to me almost surreal, but I know it was true, more true than anything that has happened to me. This was a new beginning, since I felt there were no boundaries in front of me. I felt strong and brave. I felt safe. I felt I could live my life meaningfully, and I was on the right track.

This is all. Thank you. Thank you for the most meaningful night I have ever had.

Darina G.

The most incredible thing I witnessed at the Candidate Weekend at NYU Abu Dhabi was the coming together of amazing people from literally all over the world. People with vast and unique experiences, from all kinds of backgrounds, exchanging ideas and sharing that “unquenchable thirst” for cooperation, in learning and transforming the world.

It fascinated me that we were able to come together for this – in the middle of an Arabian desert! This is something whicht is only possible in the world of today, with air travel and that powerful tool which is English (language, as Einstein observed) – which connects us all and allows us to communicate, regardless of our national origins. It is something that was simply not feasible for our ancestors of centuries ago, and to have this opportunity nowadays is fantastic.

Now take for instance the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. It was designed by an American architect, based on traditional architecture of the region, built by a South Korean construction company, using materials imported from foreign countries….We see how interdependent humans are, as the quote explained – and not just within a particular society, but at a global level as well. What we saw at NYU Abu Dhabi, a vision to surpass boundaries and promote this global interaction, is revolutionary.