Cece Kim, Class of 2021, was studying away in New York when Covid-19 hit and she was sent home to Taiwan. Continuing the semester remotely from home, she realized that she, in fact, quite enjoyed the company of her family. Coupled with restrictive campus access and health protocols at NYU Abu Dhabi in Fall 2021, she ultimately decided to take a semester off.

“This is probably going to be the last time that I get to spend so much time with my family and I wanted to take my senior fall off in order to reorient my life and think about what I want to do next,” Kim said, adding that she had only been able to spend one to two months at home during previous summer breaks.

When she first returned from New York, she thought that she would hate spending time at home as she had a lot of freedom in the Big Apple while her parents still enforced a curfew. However, it later dawned on her that she just needed some time to work things out with them.

“Having that time from March until August really helped us figure out our relationship better,” she reflected. She also bonded with her younger brother by helping him with his college applications.

Although she was on leave, Kim remained very much focused academically. One of her major projects during that time was to study for the GRE, as well as to get her driver’s license. In her spare time, she reconnected with old friends, explored the neighborhood and kept in touch with people through letters.

Photo Courtesy of Cece Kim.

Even as a Literature and Creative Writing major, Kim had always been interested in a career in psychology and counseling. In her freshman spring semester, she joined the peer counseling support group REACH, developing a passion for mental health issues specifically among Asian Americans and other marginalized groups. She ultimately wants to get a PhD specializing in counseling or clinical psychology, with a focus on multicultural counseling.

During her leave of absence, she planned out what she needed to do in order to pursue that path. After conducting some research, she decided that she needed to take a handful of psychology courses and obtain a research assistant position, so that was what she did when she returned to campus in the spring.

Having the time to reflect and plan was instrumental in reorienting her trajectory. After graduating in December 2021, she landed a full time position as a research assistant for Dr PJ Henry, Associate Professor of Psychology. Her work investigates the development of identity, values and attitudes throughout college years among students here at NYUAD.

“I don’t think it is a necessity anymore that people have to do really life changing stuff during their gap semesters,” Kim shared. “Whatever makes you comfortable, I think [what] works for you is whatever makes your time worth it.”