####Ben Marcus-Willers, Class of 2017

Photograph by Katarina Holtzapple

Ben Marcus-Willers has always loved tea, but after a year in Taiwan, he began to appreciate it even more, learning about how it was made, the Chinese tea ceremony and its social context. His room is very zen and there are teas of every type — fitting, seeing as Marcus-Willers dreams of opening up his own chain of Chinese tea shops.

####Oscar Emilio Bueso Asfura, Class of 2020

Photograph by Katarina Holtzapple

A poster of New York City, a place he dreams of living in, surrounded by photos of friends and family topped with drawings he’s done — Oscar Emilio Bueso Asfura’s wall above his bed is a depiction of who he is. In the shared common room, Asfura and his roommates have a map of the world showing the places they have travelled to, a TV set up for video games, and an intriguing kangaroo-zebra blow-up.

####Hunter Peterson, Class of 2020

Photograph by Katarina Holtzapple

What do Christmas and Lady Gaga have in common? The dorm room of Hunter Peterson, class of 2020. Peterson’s closet is an ode to Gaga, with columns of photos representing different Gaga eras and albums, while his common room is bedecked in Christmas lights and decorations. “Christmas is my favorite time of year,” said Peterson. “So if I throw up all the lights I can find, it is Christmas all year round.”

####Katie Sheng, Heikke Merilin Raidma, Subhekshya Shrestha and Nadia Alhashmi, Class of 2020

Photograph by Katarina Holtzapple

“It’s a great way to procrastinate: every time we don’t want to work, we decide to redecorate,” said Katie Sheng. She and her roommates have decorated for Fall, Halloween, Christmas and just plain fun. They have lights strung across the ceiling, tapestries and maps cover the walls and quotes and puns are pasted anywhere they fit. Their goal is to create a room that is fun and inviting; clearly a success, as many of their friends spend more time there than in their own rooms.

####Finn Murray-Jones, Class of 2018

Photograph by Katarina Holtzapple

The walls of Finn Murray-Jones’s common room are an art gallery. The collection? Pieces done by friends over the years. “It started after a party, when we found a pizza cardboard box someone had drawn a mustached man on,” Murray-Jones said. Since then, he has collected sketches, class projects and inside jokes to put on his wall. Each piece has its own label with the artist name, a title and the materials used.

####Kai Erik-Jensen, Class of 2017 and Davis Teague, Class of 2018

Photograph by Katarina Holtzapple

Room 510 did not come together overnight. Instead, the various pieces strewn around the room were collected over time. There is a bed converted into a couch, a color-coded bookshelf, various artwork, mood lighting and much more. It was all done with the hope of creating a fun, welcoming place for people to hang out in. The sign on their door is the one used by homeless people to signal a town or home that is welcoming and safe. An empty bedroom was also redone, and it houses the Strip Club library.

####A2B 4th floor lounge

Photograph by Katarina Holtzapple

Not a dorm room, per se, but an honorable mention-worthy NYUAD room. The ladies of A2B 4th floor decorated their lounge to be a huge pillow fort, great for relaxing and destressing.