Like most of his fellow classmates, Alex Wang lives in Sama Towers, the student residence hall just minutes away from the downtown campus of NYU Abu Dhabi. In many ways, however, Alex stands apart - even from the eclectic inaugural undergraduate class everyone is talking about.
“In my hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania – a suburb of Philadelphia – I was an organiser for students not only at my school but throughout the community. I ran the local branch of the Young Democrats, I was a student team leader with Organising for America, and I worked on organising a lot of campaigns.”
Alex has come to Abu Dhabi to double major in Economics and Public Policy, but moving half way around the world to start university in a foreign country has been no deterrent to Alex’s humanitarian spirit.
“I’m starting a new group called NYUADvocacy, and so far I’ve had about 30 sign ups. I think a big part of it will be discussing current events and different approaches to humanitarian aid. While I’m in Abu Dhabi, I’d like to do more hands-on work like fund raising and volunteering to affect positive change.”
How does a student at the newest university in town spend his day? Abu Dhabi Week investigates.
6.30am: Alex wakes up in his Sama flat and heads to the gym. “I share a two-bedroom flat with three other people and I really get along well with all of my roommates. Sama Tower is really nice – I have friends in the States living in college dorms with mould and rats and cockroaches, so living in Sama is bliss.”
8am: After a quick breakfast in the school canteen – “we don’t have our own kitchens” – Alex returns to his room for a shower and a few hours of homework. “This semester I’m studying Economics, English literature, a philosophy course called Foundations of Modern Thought and Chinese.”
11am: Alex rides the bus from his front door to the downtown campus in time for his first class of the day, a literature course called Becoming Human. “It’s one of my favourite courses, but then I love all my classes because my professors are just incredible.”
12.30pm: From intensive English literature, Alex goes straight to Chinese, a lesson in language he finds “completely infantilising – I spoke better Chinese when I was four than I do now and it makes me really distressed,” laughs the eloquent freshman.
2pm: Now that his seven-week course in Economics has finished, Alex as a break in his schedule. “I have three fourteen-week courses and one seven-week course.” Lunch is generally a fat Panini sandwich from the campus cafe then Alex heads back to his flat to study for tomorrow’s classes or practice his guitar.
6pm: After another hardcore study session, Alex is ready for a dinner break. He’s devoted to his hunt for the perfect shawarma – what he calls “shwarmdering” – which is usually followed by some time with his friends and fellow classmates. “There’s a real sense of camaraderie, partly because we all come from different places. There are a striking number of similarities between us. Everyone I’ve met is incredibly kind, and I think that everyone has some desire to make the world a better place.”
9pm: Between studying and classes, Alex has found just enough time to explore his city with desert camping and trips to ADIHEX, the camel races and several of the film festival events, but one of his true passions is news reading, and once he gets started he may stay at it for hours. “I read articles obsessively about everything – I sometimes queue up 200 hundred articles to read.”
Final thoughts: “I don’t know what profession I want specifically, but I have a lot of ideas. Ultimately, I want to help end human tragedy, perhaps by using economics to help better the lives of people who are legitimately suffering through really practical effective methods – you may only get a small return, but you’ve done something really good!
Laura Fulton
