NYU Wordpress Theme

Author: Kristin Law

Prague Internships

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

NYU Prague students share their favorite moments from internships during their time studying away.

Three smiling NYU students face a group of children

NYU Prague students teach Czech elementary school students English through the Prague Elementary program.

Prague Elementary
This program brings native English users into Prague elementary schools to help children learn English.

“My best memory was helping the students gain the confidence to perform a play in English! Many of the students felt out of place because they were experiencing something new, but it was heartwarming watching them come out of their shells.”
—Emily Tsao, Music Education, Class of 2025

“When one of the kids gave me a drawing of their family. It was so sweet and reminded me of my own.”
—Lina Wang, Business, Class of 2024

Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU)
Since 1991, this nonprofit and nongovernmental organization has supported refugees in the Czech Republic. OPU offers free legal and social counseling, training programs for professionals, and other activities to welcome and integrate refugees. Fighting against xenophobia and racial and ethnic intolerance is one of their main goals.

“Organizing a Holi event for the kids and watching them decorate bags, color, and get their faces painted!”
—Ela Kulkarni, Global Liberal Studies, Class of 2025

CEE Bankwatch Network
CEE Bankwatch Network is a global network of 15 member groups and 13 countries working to prevent environmentally and socially harmful international development as well as promote alternative solutions and community input.

“Writing a case study on a hydropower plant in Serbia!”
—Molly Bombard, Public Policy, Class of 2024

Memory of Nations’ High School
Opened in 2021, the Memory of Nations’ High School focuses on modern history, social and media education, practical journalism, world languages, and other humanities subjects. In addition to partnering with NYU Prague, the high school works with Sokolov Grammar School and the Higher Vocational School of Journalism.

“It’s hard to come up with a specific moment, but I’m fortunate enough to have developed a kind of relationship where we’re open and sharing about our personal lives. The students feel like my mini-therapists sometimes.”
—Emily Yang, Sociology, Class of 2024

STEM Classes in the Global Network

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

Study away has long been a draw for students of art, language, and history. But at NYU, the chance to explore another country and make progress in their major isn’t just for humanities students.

Classes for Every Academic Path

Lion statues and fountain in Trafalgar Square

Many prehealth students find it easy to take courses at NYU London.

In NYU’s global network, prehealth and science students can find classes abroad that align with their specific degree requirements. “A major factor that pushed me to go abroad was the ability to take General Physics I, Intro to Psychology, and other core classes for my major and College of Arts and Science requirements while being able to enjoy myself and make good memories,” says Maame Mensah-Bonsu, a Neural Science major who studied at NYU London. Prehealth students at NYU London can stay on track for medical school with science and math courses accepted at all American Medical College Application Service® medical schools in the United States, through a curriculum that also offers Organic Chemistry I.

Students in white coats for a lab

At NYU Tel Aviv, a partnership with Tel Aviv University means students have access to fully equipped lab facilities.

At NYU Tel Aviv, students can take chemistry, public health, and biology classes like Principles of Biology I, Molecular and Cell Biology II, and Epidemiology for Global Health. Mathematics, computer science, and economics are also represented at NYU London and other global academic sites like NYU Paris. And starting in spring 2024, NYU Accra will offer Global Perspectives of Women’s Health and Human Rights in Africa, a nursing course that examines the major social, cultural, and environmental forces affecting women in Africa.

Furthermore, NYU Abu Dhabi’s degree-granting campus offers more than 650 courses across 26 majors, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) paths. “I loved how small our class was as well as how hands-on the lab experiments were,” says Nashely Fajardo, a Civil Engineering major, of NYU Abu Dhabi. “The STEM options at NYU Abu Dhabi fit perfectly into my academic path,” she adds. And NYU Shanghai, another degree-granting campus, includes a curriculum covering mathematics, science, and algorithmic thinking.

Class seated around a table in front of a large green screen

NYU Shanghai also offers many courses in interactive media, including this class on motion capture.

High Standards, at Home and Abroad

Lena Olson, a preveterinary Biology major who studied at both NYU London and NYU Berlin, wishes more STEM students knew studying away will not set them back academically. “We tend to get so caught up in the intensive requirements of our major and think we will get behind if we leave our home campus,” Lena says. “However, by simply rearranging the order of courses, everyone is more than capable of studying away.”

Students will receive the same high-quality learning experiences studying away as they would at their home campus. For example, organic chemistry, biology, and physics courses at NYU London match the New York City campus’ departments lecture-for-lecture and lab-for-lab. “Taking a physics course in London was one of the best choices I’ve ever made,” Maame says. “The class was small so I had the opportunity to form relationships with my instructor and peers.”

Unforgettable Experiences

Paris skyline with the Eiffel Tower

Among other offerings, computer science is a highlight at NYU Paris.

Brooke Forester, a Biochemistry and French major, took advantage of cultural offerings for students during her time at NYU Paris. “The many incredible activities offered through NYU are great ways to see France and meet new people within the NYU Paris community,” she says. “For example, I went on a trip to Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley, and I had an amazing time and met incredible people.” Elvira Wang, a Biochemistry major, participated in similar experiences while studying at NYU London. “The cultural program offers a lot of day trips during weekends and free tickets for famous musicals as well,” she says. “Moreover, every week my physics professor would send us cultural activities related to physics.”

Studying away gives you a chance to explore new surroundings and make global connections. “It is a unique opportunity to be exposed to different cultures. At NYU London, I met a lot of people and explored a lot of London along with other European cities,” says Traman Gupta, a Computer Engineering major. “It’s overall just an amazing experience.”

Students Confront the Water Crisis Through Experiential Learning in the Himalayas

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law
The Himalayas against a blue sky

Photograph by Constantinos Sofikitis

All around us, there are signs the world is rapidly warming. But the Himalayas, which experiences floods and avalanches that could plunge the 2.5 billion people who rely on the mountains for freshwater into crisis, is a region under constant threat. Now, as part of NYU Abu Dhabi’s eARThumanities research initiative, the Geopolitics and Ecology of Himalayan Water (GEHW) project seeks to address the multitude of challenges the Himalayas encounters due to climate change.

A group of people walking in the woods

Students hiking in the Haatiban Resort. Photograph by Harry Jang.

This winter two January Term (J Term) classes—The Media, Climate Change and Other Calamities and The Himalayas: Geopolitics and Ecology of Melting Mountains—explored the environmental, geopolitical, and cultural implications of climate change. After learning about the subjects in the classroom, students flew to the Nepal Himalayas to witness these changes directly and begin to work toward solutions.

“The trip itself was the highlight of the J Term because students were asked to travel as scholars and researchers, not as tourists,” says Sophia Kalantzakos, the founder of eARThumanities and Global Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Public Policy. “We had a vast array of different experts who came to speak to us about the issues at hand, but we also wanted the students to fall in love with the mountains and the region. We had an opportunity to use all our senses in ways you’re not able to when stuck in a classroom.”

Four people seated at a table on a stage

A panel at one of the conferences students attended. Photograph by Constantinos Sofikitis.

In Nepal NYU Abu Dhabi students combined scientific research and conferences while also immersing themselves in culture and place. Research affiliate and GEHW founding member Rastraraj Bhandari, NYU Abu Dhabi Class of 2019, adds, “The foundational thing that students were able to gather is how the climate crisis and the water crisis impact every sector and every field. It’s deeply rooted in how we live. Incorporating the humanities into understanding a scientific problem allows us to humanize the crises.”

Two women in head scarves hold up paintings

Students display their paintings at the Taragaon Art Museum. Photograph by Constantinos Sofikitis.

For Sophie Pfisterer, a first-year student interested in film and sustainability, the experience was life-changing. “It was a combination of everything I was interested in, and the trip itself was just incredible because I felt like I connected with one of my passions every day,” she says. One day they visited a farming initiative seeking environmentally friendly and culturally sensitive solutions to improve the quality of life in alpine villages. The next day, they attended a conference with experts including the British ambassador to Nepal, a filmmaker, the CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Nepal, and an ornithologist. “It was this incredible way of learning so much because it meant something to me and I knew I’d use it. That’s different from learning something for a test. With that—once you’re done—you lose that information because it doesn’t mean anything to you.”

Federico Jannelli, a recent graduate who majored in Economics and minored in Arabic, traveled to Nepal to better understand the multidisciplinary ramifications of the crises. “As an Economics major, it was interesting to understand more about the strong economic relationship and financial links between Nepal and the United Arab Emirates,” he explains. “Professor Kalantzakos did a great job linking the concerns of the various stakeholders. She highlighted the need for cooperation. We urgently need to tackle these problems, but the solution isn’t just to have high-ranking diplomats and politicians sit at a roundtable and discuss solutions. We need to involve people who are experiencing the consequences of these crises every day.”

A group poses for the camera with mountains in the background

January Term students and faculty. Photograph by Constantinos Sofikitis.

In and of the City: A Conversation with NYU Accra Director Chiké Frankie Edozien

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

Portrait of Chiké Frankie Edozien

Prior to his time as the site director of NYU Accra, Chiké Frankie Edozien spent 11 years leading the site’s Reporting Africa program. An award-winning journalist and author, Edozien’s work focuses on government, health, and cultural issues in Africa and across the globe. His memoir, Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man, an exploration of the lives of contemporary LGBTQ+ men and women on the African continent and in the diaspora, won the 2018 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir/Biography. His work has appeared in Time and the New York Times, among others, and from 1999 to 2008, he worked as a reporter for the New York Post. In 2017 Edozien was awarded NYU’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award for excellence in teaching, community building, social justice advocacy, and leadership.

When Edozien started his tenure as the NYU Accra director in January 2020, the phrase “in and of the city” inspired his approach to leadership. And even through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has continued to build a bridge between the University and local Ghanaian community, creating an atmosphere of immersive learning for students eager to truly become citizens of the world.

Global Dimensions recently interviewed Edozien about his time leading NYU Accra, his initiative to work closer with the local community, and his hopes for the students he works with.

Interviewer and writer: Kelly McHugh-Stewart

Q: You started as director in 2020, I imagine that was an interesting time to begin a new role, and I’m sure there have been obstacles, but could you start by sharing a few highlights from your time as director thus far?

Chiké Frankie Edozien: Of course. There have been several. I think Go Local is one of the things I enjoyed. That was two semesters of working with students who lived in Ghana but were unable to travel to their NYU home campuses due to the pandemic. During that year in particular, we were able to not just deliver education to students but also show them a Ghana they never knew. It was very gratifying to teach people who were born and bred in Ghana and have them tell us, “We didn’t know about any of this!”

It’s also been really wonderful to revamp some of the courses we offer and try to make sure we are giving students the best academic experience. We’ve updated our food, music, and journalism courses. We also took advantage of the fact that the fall season has a lot of cultural festivals and created arts and humanities courses. We’re not divorced from anything that’s happening in Accra; that’s certainly a highlight for me. 

Q: Related to that, tell me about the Labone Dialogues series you established.

CFE: Yes, that has been another highlight. One of the things that is very interesting for me is that, even though we might be the smallest global site, we have a lot going on and we offer a lot to our neighbors. I thought about all the wonderful things we have access to, all the wonderful people who come into contact with our students and into our classrooms, and I wanted to find a way to bring the things we do to the public and provide access for people in the community.

In the last three years, we’ve hosted 10 conversations, and we’ve had wonderful scholars, musicians, and artists here. We’re not just about educating our people, we’re about sharing our resources and encouraging local production of knowledge. 

Q: That’s amazing. Can you share a little more about what goes into the Labone Dialogues?

CFE: It starts with some kind of student engagement, which is not open to the public, then there’s a master class for the community to come in, listen, and ask questions. But we also have a craft session for select community members who do not normally have a chance to meet these people NYU has access to. They get to come and work on their craft whether it’s a book, theatre project, or music piece. For us, we think of it as a gift to the community for hosting us in their city, and it has been quite gratifying to be able to share the resources we have with them.

Two people seated onstage in front of an audience having a conversation with microphones

Nigerian writer, Leye Adenle (right), in conversation with Kinna Likimani (left) at a Labone Dialogues community event in February of 2023.

Q: What is unique about NYU Accra and why would you encourage students to spend time studying there?

CFE: NYU Accra is at the center of the world, not just physically but also in terms of the changing world. Ghana is not a developed nation; it is a developing nation. And with that comes a lot of challenges but also a lot of opportunities to do very meaningful work. When we place interns in companies, they are not fetching coffee or making photocopies—they are working on projects. Whether it’s trying to find and deliver vaccines to people, auditing corporations, or sourcing portable water resources, our students have access. I teach journalism and know that, even as a professional journalist, it’s difficult to get an audience with the mayor of a town or the statehouse in the United States, but our journalism students have access to government officials and private businesses. They get answers to their questions.

Our students can also meet ordinary people because we don’t have an NYU bubble here. We really are in and of the city. To have an African experience in your undergraduate years is a wonderful thing, but to be able to do it in a place where you have access to everyone, where almost nothing is beyond your grasp—that’s really quite an experience.

Q: What do you hope students take away from their time in Accra?

CFE: I would like them to really take a bite out of the world. We work very hard to ensure that when a student comes to study in Accra, they’re not just coming to study, they’re really coming to spend a semester in the region. We understand ourselves as NYU Accra, but we also understand ourselves as NYU in Ghana, so we spend a good chunk of the semester showing students all the different experiences and different regions. It’s important to us that our students talk about their time here with a sense of authority—not that they just studied in Accra, but they lived in Ghana, they lived in West Africa, and they understand the nuances. And that’s what we want for them: that they can truly be global citizens. 

Q: You recently had a short story, “Krifé,” published in the new book Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices. Congrats! 

CFE: I think that came out in January, so it’s very new! 

Q: What does “krifé” mean and what is the story about? 

CFE: “Krifé” is a colloquial way of referring to a certain kind of folk in Ghana who are very much into their religion. So that work is really an observation about class differences in West Africa, an observation of people who make assumptions about others, while understanding that not everything is as it seems. One advantage of being here is, in everything that I do, I can really observe how contemporary West African society is versus what’s been written about it. It is my hope that by the time I’m finished here, I can do more pieces like that. 

Q: What book are you currently reading?

CFE: I just got this book called For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings. It’s by the Kenyan writer Troy Onyango and is a collection that has a razor-like focus on different kinds of East Africans—people who are trans, people whose families might be considered different, people who are going through different things—in contemporary society. I’m very much interested in his take on things. I just started it, but I’m hoping it gives me a better understanding of the region on the other side of us.

Q: Finally, what is one book you’d recommend to a student interested in studying in Accra or someone who simply wants to learn more about the area?

CFE: I recommend a book by Ghanaian writer Esther Armah; it’s called Emotional Justice: A Roadmap for Racial Healing. I like her take because she lives in Ghana, but she also lived and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. There has been a lot of turmoil over the last few years, and one of the things that’s very important for us as scholars and people is to not only look at what’s happened but how we can get past it. How do we move forward? She takes a good look at that, not just from an African perspective, but from the perspective of an African who has been an observer and bystander in the Western world.

And with our young people, it’s really up to us as professors and site directors to make these kinds of books and conversations available so that, in their own time, they can think about them and make the world a better place. For us, that’s very important. At this site in West Africa, we are part of the conversation in a way that works toward healing. So I recommend this book to anyone interested in this region because what happens in the United States is not disconnected from what happens here. We may be far away, but we are connected in more ways than it seems.

The NYU Los Angeles Mentorship Program: Partners in Line Producing

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

The NYU Los Angeles Mentorship Program gives students the opportunity to be paired with a mentor working in their field(s) of interest. The pairs have at least three one-on-one meetings throughout the semester, and all mentors and mentees are invited to a networking event at the end of the year.

Mentorship pair Mattison Lewis, Tisch School of the Arts Class of 2021, and Franny Baldwin, Tisch Class of 1992, instantly clicked. Due to their shared dedication to careers as line producers, their kinship is a wonderful success of the program. Not to mention it led to Mattison landing a job at Netflix working with Franny.

Matty and Franny smile together at the camera

Q: Mattison, do you have any advice for students coming to NYU Los Angeles?

Mattison: I would tell them something that Franny tells me all the time: don’t be so hard on yourself! I can be very hard on myself when I make a mistake, but making mistakes or having multiple interests is natural in any career. My second piece of advice is to give grace to yourself and other people. Every job is an opportunity to learn, grow, and reflect on what went well and what you want to carry to your next job. And my final piece of advice is to not only maximize your time with your mentor but also appreciate all the time and advice they give you.

Q: What do you think made this mentorship so successful?

Mattison: Franny was so generous with her time. I appreciated this so much, since I have a huge desire to be a line producer. In addition to asking her questions about what I was working on, I shared production books and budgets for projects with her. Before I met Franny, I felt like I was flying blind or always divided in my attention and interests in film and television. But she takes to heart everything I say and bring to the table, and I try my best to reciprocate that attention.

Franny: I was very excited that Mattison was actually interested in learning how to line produce. I assumed we would meet every other week and I would teach him different skills and parts of being a line producer. I didn’t anticipate that we would end up spending so much time together just talking and learning about each other’s lives and families and really connecting.

Q: How did this mentorship evolve into a job?

Franny: When Mattison was hired for his first production coordinator job, we texted and spoke frequently while he was on location. I was very impressed with how he was handling the job. Even though I already knew I wanted to work with him, it became clear to me he would be a fabulous asset to any production. 

Then Netflix approached me about their Emerging Talent program. They wanted to hire someone who was already working in production in their chosen field but would benefit from additional opportunities aimed at reaching their next career level and/or building their professional network. Mattison was a perfect fit because our show was scripted and all of his prior experience was in unscripted work. He did a fabulous job on the show. When it was over, we all wondered how we would have done it without him!

NYU Interactive Media Arts Program Hosted Show in Berlin at Art Studio Weise7

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

This January the Interactive Media Arts low residency program (IMA Low Res) showcased work from their two-week intensive at NYU Berlin. The program, jointly offered by NYU Tisch School of the Arts and NYU Shanghai, gives students the opportunity to complete a master’s degree in one year. Interspersed with online learning are three low-residency sessions at NYU campuses in New York City, Shanghai, and Berlin. Show & Tell was devised by students and instructors from classes during NYU Berlin’s January session: Civic Ecologies, Virtual Worlds, and Radical Networks.

The back of a person viewing games on a screen

A visitor enjoying the show

 

Civic Ecologies with Jamie Allen

IMA Low Res students in the Civic Ecologies class used various mediums to create daily rituals. Their results were a diverse group of works including documentaries, mobile apps, short films, tarot readings, written instructions, and more.

Berlin Ecological Tarot

Two people sit at a candelit table with their eyes closed

Nicole Padilla (right) presents Berlin Ecological Tarot

Breadcrumbs

A sheet of paper with written instructions

Through video and a series of location-based scores, Jamie McCoy’s Breadcrumbs considers the ways in which passing through a city connects inhabitants to each other and their surroundings.

 

Virtual Worlds with Pierre Depaz

Students from Virtual Worlds worked in groups to create virtual worlds and games using the Unity game engine. Visitors experienced these worlds projected on a large screen as well as by immersing themselves in constructed spaces.

Adam Diggler’s Grave

Two people stand in front of a screen with a computer generated image of a city street and church

Yiyang Cao and Renton Lin’s Adam Diggler’s Grave was created using the Unity development platform

Journey to Mars

A computer-generated image of the interior of a spacecraft

Yunshan Jiang and Siri Zhao’s Journey to Mars. Visitors witness their created world: 500 years from now people can easily transport between the uninhabitable Earth and Mars.

 

Radical Networks with Sarah Grant

Using Raspberry Pis, which are single board computers, students in Radical Networks created various interactive works related to networking technologies. Works ranged from public Wi-Fi networks where users could only access a 2012 version of the web, filtered and manipulated unencrypted government sites, and playful explorations of the physicality of signals emitted through connected devices.

PESCA

A smiling person holds a lit LED

Visitors play with Kat Park’s PESCA, a portable mesh network. An LED signals when another node has wandered too far away. The work was programmed with Python and is made with Raspberry Pis, battery packs, Wi-Fi antennae, and LEDs.

Photography by Brian Ho and Renton Ling

Students Traveled to NYU Tel Aviv Through a Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminar

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

“The entire experience was really rewarding,” says Alice Hallock, a first-year Educational Theatre major at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, about her trip to NYU Tel Aviv. “Everything we did was grounded in the course. We got to really explore the culture, but, in the end, everything came back to what we learned from the textbooks. It was amazing to see it all play out in a real-world situation—you don’t get that with other classes.”

A group of students pose for a selfie with the ocean in the background

NYU Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminar students pose for a photo in Tel Aviv where their curriculum focused on families, schools, and child development came to life.

Established in 2012, the Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminars are semester-long, seminar-style courses that incorporate an international trip to one of 10 available NYU global academic centers. Open to first- and second-year students, the courses integrate a global perspective into the study of an interdisciplinary, liberal arts–based topic, from fashion and music to sustainability and biodiversity. Four seminars are offered every year—two in the fall and two in the spring—each focused on a different subject. This fall, NYU Steinhardt offered the course Families, Schools, and Child Development, where students traveled to Israel to experience their learnings in real time.

Families, Schools, and Child Development, led by Clinical Associate Professor of Applied Psychology Adina Schick, allows students to dive into readings, studies, and research projects throughout the semester. When the class arrived in Tel Aviv, it was as if their coursework came to life. The group spent each morning and afternoon of the trip visiting different schools in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They had conversations with both elementary and high school students and learned about the differences—and similarities—between their experiences.

Five students sitting on benches in discussion

Debra Amata, majoring in Instrumental Performance, and Aaliyah Kamara, majoring in Applied Psychology, interview high school students at Jerusalem’s Mae Boyar High School international program.

“The class taught me a lot about noticing people of other cultures and not just celebrating them but really learning from them,” adds Alice. “It was impactful to talk to these kids then realize, ‘Oh, I went through this same exact thing.’ It opened my mind, and I know I’ll carry the trip and the conversations I had with me throughout my life, especially when I’m working with other children.”

Tiana Elavia, a second year at NYU Steinhardt majoring in Applied Psychology, went to elementary school in India and high school in the United States. According to Tiana, her personal experience in different educational systems and the opportunity to visit classrooms, talk to students, and learn about the Israeli educational system while on the class trip are what drew her to apply for the seminar in the first place. “The direct conversations we had with people, the hands-on work, that’s what I was looking for,” explains Tiana. “With this kind of trip, this kind of class, you get to talk to people about what they’re doing instead of just sitting in class reading an article. You get to be there yourself and ask your own questions.”

Two students inspect plant life

In Tel Aviv Applied Psychology major Mishal Shafique learns about an urban farming initiative with an elementary school student.

While second-year students are invited to apply to the Steinhardt Dean’s Global Honors Seminars, first-year students who meet a seminar’s specific requirements are invited to participate. The opportunity to travel their first year is often an appealing factor for deciding prospective students. The seminars give first-year NYU students a taste of what life is like at its global campuses and sites and, often, can be launching pads for future study away opportunities. “The biggest takeaway for me was just learning and thinking about how there are so many different people and ideologies, how there are so many things going on around the world that you just don’t know about,” says Tiana, who is making the most of NYU’s global opportunities and spending the spring semester at NYU Sydney. “This class really helped me broaden my horizons about different cultures, thoughts, and ideas.”

Written by Kelly McHugh-Stewart

The NYU Washington, DC, Music Club: Where There’s No Judgment

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

An NYU Liberal Studies student describes the value a new music club brings to NYU Washington, DC, students

Written by Saylee Nemade, Liberal Studies (LS), Class of 2026

On a spectacular fall Sunday, the NYU Washington, DC, Chamber Music Collective gathered downtown at the Church of the Epiphany to watch Mina Smith, LS Class of 2026, perform with the DC Concert Orchestra Society (DCCOS) in a program full of classical pieces by composers ranging from Mozart to Holmès. Mina began playing the violin when she was 6 years old. Since then, music has been an integral part of her life. During her time at NYU, she wanted to keep it a focal point. So she auditioned for DCCOS, where she says she’s enjoyed interacting with new people of all ages in a musical environment.

Interior of the Church of the Epiphany. Stained glass windows and people sitting in pews.

The DC Concert Orchestra Society performing at the Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, DC

Mina is also a founding member of the NYU Washington, DC, Chamber Music Collective, a student-run club for music lovers of all kinds that launched in fall 2022. Her Sunday concert was one of several events and gatherings the club has organized with support from faculty adviser and violinist Dr. Sydney Boyd. Every Friday, the club holds ShowcaseHour, an open mic, for any NYU Washington, DC, student to share their musical talents. Under Boyd’s direction, the club has also attended events around the DC area (like Mina’s concert) as well as solo performances and guest lectures with pianists such as Dr. Yvonne Chen. There’s a diverse set of talents within the club. Students play myriad instruments from the violin, piano, and guitar to the xiao (a vertical end-blown flute) and the melodica. In turn, the club’s activities involve a variety of genres, styles, and musical affinities. For example, one week ShowcaseHour became KaraokeHour. Students also have plans to invite a variety of musical guests to share their own musical journeys. In everything it does, the club focuses on inclusion and community: no criticism, just applause for a shared passion.

Two masked students pose for the camera in the Church of the Epiphany

Saylee Nemade (left) and a friend attend the DC Concert Orchestra Society’s performance at the Church of the Epiphany

When I chose NYU Washington, DC, as my LS First Year Study Away site, I was elated to have the opportunity to join the Chamber Music Collective. It is a very open, nonjudgmental club. As a musician and dancer myself, music plays an influential part in my life. I have been dancing since I was 3, and I’ve been singing, writing, and composing since I was 8. In addition, I have played a variety of instruments since a young age and continue to play and compose on the piano. As the Chamber Music Collective’s administrative secretary, I enjoy proposing and organizing new events. I love watching and listening to the club members’ varied talents because each person is unique. We’re all from diverse backgrounds, and that brings new perspectives to the club.

Accessibility Abroad

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

Deciding to study in a new place and culture can be intimidating. And even though there are many resources available to NYU students while abroad, sometimes the most meaningful support and advocacy comes from their peers. The NYU Global Equity Fellowship is designed to do just that, by having students empower their classmates to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion while studying away.

Johileny Meran poses in front of the Tower Bridge

Johileny Meran in front of the Tower Bridge in London

Johileny Meran, College of Arts and Science (CAS) Class of 2019, was NYU London’s inaugural Global Equity Fellow. As a student who is also a manual wheelchair user, she took her time researching accessibility in London and seeking insight from other students who had studied abroad there. A Global Public Health and Sociology major with a minor in Disabilities Studies, Johileny ultimately decided to study abroad during her senior year.

Despite her thorough preparation, Johileny experienced unforeseen challenges as she adjusted. “I struggled my first few weeks in London because most local businesses had a step or two in front, and I thought I couldn’t go in,” says Johileny. It was hard for her to think she couldn’t go out with friends or browse in shops and experience the city, especially after all of her careful preparation. “Then I learned that many places have a doorbell by their main entrances for you to request assistance. They bring out a temporary ramp to put over the step,” she adds. “London is a very old city with old buildings, so they provide accessibility differently, but it does exist.”

While abroad as a Global Equity Fellow, Johileny developed the NYU London Access Culture Guide. “It’s a booklet with general information about studying in London as a student with a disability. It is very much centered on my perspective as a student with a physical disability who uses a manual wheelchair,” explains Johileny, “but I made it with the intention that it would be a living document.” She compiled information on accessible transportation, how ramp culture functions in London, and how to travel to other cities and countries from London. She also conferred with International Relations major Emely Recinos, CAS Class of 2020, to include her input.

Emely Recinos holds her white can and poses in front of a body of water

Emely Recinos during her time at NYU Buenos Aires

Emely, who is blind, saw NYU Buenos Aires as a great academic fit but wasn’t certain about navigating the city or the academic center itself. So she conducted her own research to determine what studying at NYU Buenos Aires would be like. “I looked into the culture of disability in Argentina to understand how people view it there,” she says. She also visited the Moses Center for Student Accessibility for resources and support. In turn, the Moses Center sent guidelines to NYU Buenos Aires, who then contacted relevant local resources. For example, they recruited a teacher in Buenos Aires who knew braille and had access to an embosser for braille printing to work with Emely on mobility instruction (that is, how to get around the city).

When planning for study away, both Johileny and Emely encourage students with disabilities to reach out to other students with disabilities who have studied abroad. “Talk to students about what it was like for them,” says Johileny. And most importantly? “Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find the information you want on the first try. And once you’re there, embrace it. There are a lot of ups and downs, and that’s completely normal.”

Repurposed with permission from NYU Global Notebook

Opportunities for Immersion: Experiential Learning Across the World

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

One of the many benefits of studying abroad is students learning from world-class faculty while also gaining a new perspective on the world around them. The space where learning happens isn’t limited to the classroom, but expanded to a specific site, with courses planned to both inform and immerse.

As they connect their learning to the places where they study and vice versa, students are equipped with the tools to approach knowledge with curiosity, exploration, and context. Here are some recent courses that capitalize on the locations where they take place.

Cultures and Context: The Black Atlantic

At NYU Accra, Professor Kofi Baku teaches this wide-ranging history course to explore the concept of the Black Atlantic as a sociocultural and economic space. The course covers the 15th-century capture of Africans and their arrival in the New World, the rise of slavery and the eventual emancipation in the Americas, and decolonization and the Black struggle for liberation, equality, and Pan-Africanism.

A large group of students in front of a white set of stairs and building

NYU Accra students on a trip to Elmina Castle.

To complement the historical moments covered in the course, Professor Baku organizes field trips to key sites in Ghana. These trips include a tour of the Cape Coast and Elmina Castle, where African captives were held before they were sent to the Americas. They also visit Osu Castle to learn about the legacies of the Danish slave trade on the Gold Coast. And finally, they visit a plantation in Sesemi to learn about the Gold Coast’s development after the abolition of the slave trade. As students visit these sites, they write personal, interdisciplinary reflections based on their experiences.

Culture of the City: Italian Urban Life

At NYU Florence, Professor Davide Lombardo thinks of the city on two levels: historical and theoretical. From ancient times to modernity, students get a historical and spatial overview of the evolution of Florence’s urban environment.

Aurora Russell, a junior double majoring in Psychology and Journalism with a minor in Anthropology comments on the importance of immersion, “We spend the field-based classes completely in the location, whether it’s out in the city, in a museum, or at a church. Immersing yourself in an environment while you’re discussing that place is a really good way to learn about and understand it.”

Students wearing white gloves look through large books

NYU Florence students immerse themselves in the Acton Art Collection.

Shaping an Educational Landscape: Museum Island

At NYU Berlin, Professor Annette Loeseke organizes a thematic exploration of museums in her course, a mixture of classroom discussions and field trips to the cultural institutions on Museumsinsel. Home to Berlin’s complex of five world-famous museums, students explore the role of the museum in modern times covering topics like feminist and LGBTQ+ perspectives on art collections, digital museum tools and the politics of code, and postcolonial museums in diverse societies.

Throughout the semester, the class meets at the Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Pergamon Museum and Panorama, Bode-Museum, and Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for Contemporary Art (which is not on Museuminsel), to explore the intersection of museums, history, culture, and politics.

A group of people stand in a circle in front of greenery.

Annette Loeske introduces a museum visit to her Museum Island class at NYU Berlin.

Repurposed with permission from Meet NYU.