Multimedia by Isabel Ríos
Another Year, Another Octave
NYU President Emeritus John Sexton gives his annual talk to the NYU Abu Dhabi community, sharing personal anecdotes and words of advice.
Oct 18, 2020
On Oct. 7, NYU President Emeritus John Sexton gave his annual informal talk to the NYU Abu Dhabi community. He shared personal stories as well as the tale of how the university came to be. As he said, it is worth knowing the founding story.
Sexton joined NYU in 1981 as a professor at the School of Law. According to him, it was the pulse of New York and the pulse of NYU that attracted him and his wife to choose NYU as the place where he would start a new stage to his career.
Gradually, Sexton climbed the rungs of NYU leadership and was appointed as the president in May 2001. His heart was always in education, specifically in creating a university of the most diverse, most extraordinary community of students in the world drawn from every sector of society, every continent and every economic situation.
Sexton added that these students would come together with all the differences that they represent and they will “learn the joy of [being] different … [and] love will break out across differences”. His global outlook was inspired by his high school teacher Charlie who told him to “play another octave of the piano,” which meant “embracing all the wonders of creation.”
This dream of creating a globally-minded college was shared by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Over the course of their collaboration that would result in NYUAD, the two men became great friends. Sexton even revealed that they would play video games together.
Sexton’s student-centered approach to education can be seen in his commitment to getting to know potential NYUAD students. He has attended every Candidate Weekend up until January 2016 and conversed freely with candidates, even knowing them by their first names.
When asked about the unprecedented challenges the student body has to confront during this Remote Plus semester, Sexton suggested that students should “not view this as a liability, but rather as an opportunity.” He urged the student body to tackle the obstacles head on and not to fear making mistakes.
“The way John tells stories, the way he illustrates his experiences and his thought processes is so real. It’s so vulnerable. It’s so wholesome. It’s incredible, really, how he manages to light up a Zoom call ... you can see that even now, he loves what he does.” said Jianna Jackson, Class of 2024, after Sexton’s talk.
To wrap up his talk, Sexton had the following to say to students who might be suffering from imposter syndrome in this university founded with an ambitious mission: “Do not discount your own abilities ... don’t seek happiness; seek joy.”
Illustration by Isabel Rios
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