Building Bonds: NYU Shanghai Parents Panel for New Connections and Reunions

On August 20, NYU Shanghai introduced the parents of the Class of 2027 to the NYU Shanghai Community through a New Parents Panel. Chancellor Tong Shijun, Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, and Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen attended the event. The panel aimed to familiarize parents with the school's resources and services, while panelists shared their experiences to help new parents integrate into the community. An International Parents Panel was also organized to enhance understanding for international parents.

Minqing Wang from Academic Advising and Tong Jin from Academic Resource Center, Hao Guo from Center for Career Development and Chelina Wang from Student Health Center all shared on the different resources and services that are offered to students in NYU Shanghai, highlighting that parents can encourage their children to seek out and use these resources. 

The panel included Ms. Ying Su and Ms. Wenjin Cai, parents of Class of 2024 students, and Stella Cai, a Class of 2021 alumna. Stella Cai, a Nike management trainee, noted that the first-year Global Perspective on Society (GPS) course, though demanding, proved valuable in her later college years. She emphasized, “NYU Shanghai offers abundant resources to guide your children in exploring and charting their future path.”

Ms. Cai, whose child is from the Class of 2024, further explains how her daughter was able to explore different majors through the various opportunities given during her time in NYU Shanghai. She further elaborates, “She was tired everyday, but fulfilled from the knowledge gained and the experiences acquired, although the process is challenging, her mental state is a very positive one.”

Ms. Su, parent of a Class of 2024 student, gave advice to other parents, telling them to not worry about their child as they learn to navigate their first year of university, emphasizing on “Just believe in the children, believe in NYU Shanghai, believe in our school.” Their sharings shed light on how parents can better support their child during their time with NYU Shanghai.

Chancellor Tong addressed the parents, sharing his perspective on how unique NYU Shanghai is, saying, “There is a Norwegian saying: ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.’ Our mission is to enable our students to play a role on the international stage with the right attire and furthermore we also hope that students from NYU Shanghai will step out into the world and have some influence on addressing this 'bad weather.' This is the glorious and irreplaceable mission of the youth of this generation and future generations."

Vice Chancellor Lehman remarked how over the next four years, the freshmen would not only learn subject knowledge and soft skills that would carry them into their first job, they would grow values that would propel them further in life, elaborating, “NYU Shanghai is designed to help them develop qualities that they will need to advance rapidly beyond their first job.”

Provost Waley-Cohen ended the session by talking about the multi perspective identity that NYU Shanghai has, and how students will spend the next four years developing themselves. She also advised parents that there are many ways to connect with NYU Shanghai, “You can connect with other parents to share your excitement or any concerns. You can talk to prospective parents about your own and your children's experience. And you can help us make connections in the larger community in Shanghai and China, or by imagining other ways in which we can grow stronger.”

The next week, on August 26, NYU Shanghai organized a Parents Panel for parents of sophomores through seniors.

Colleagues from Academic Advising, Academic Resource Center and Center for Career Development gave a talk introducing their services, highlighting resources that are tailored to the sophomore and upperclassmen, based on the different decisions that they would have to make in the coming year. They hoped that parents could encourage their children to make full use of resources and have a wonderful four years of university life during their remaining time at NYU Shanghai.

Class of 2017 NYU Shanghai alumnus, Leon Zhu, and parent of a Class of 2022 alumnus; who is doing his Masters in MIT Sloan School of Management, Ms. Chen Su were the panelists for the Parents Panel, sharing their experience from their time in NYU Shanghai.

Leon shared how the school provided space for him to explore and decide on his major, “Because I was from the inaugural Class of 2017, we did not have seniors that would share their experience when it came to deciding our major. However the school provided academic and career development resources, which was the few things we could actually get, and of course we had to take advantage of these resources. I decided to major in Business and Finance because it was a stable choice for me.” He continued about how he developed an interest for Data Science during his Study Away semester in New York, and how he sees information from both fields of study in his current work. He further spoke about his communication style with his parents, sharing how it was respectful and gave him space to grow and make decisions that he is satisfied with.

Ms. Su was thankful and appreciated all the endless opportunities and resources that help her son decide on his future path, sharing, “using the resources NYU Shanghai provides, such as the NYU Executive Mentor Program, Benny was able to get a clearer idea on his career direction, and it brought him warmth and strength to make that decision.”

Chancellor Tong concluded by highlighting students' adulthood and decision-making, while stressing the importance of granting them the space to learn and choose wisely within the university’s boundaries. He expressed hopes for holistic growth encompassing skills, knowledge, virtues, and character to shape future changemakers.