As a child, Xu Ziyun’s school vacations were spent birdwatching in natural reserves in China and Malaysia – waking up at 4 am to climb mountains with her telescope, camera, and ornithological books, even sitting quietly on a rock for hours just to catch sight of a rare species.
Ziyun was eager to explore nature. “I was so captivated by the wild, entering a deeply immersive state when walking in the mountains,” she recalled.
It was these experiences in the wild that helped her realize the traditional classroom setting was not for her. She was drawn to NYU Shanghai, where she could make the world her major.
At college she took classes in different disciplines, benefiting from the liberal arts education at NYU Shanghai. At first, she thought she would major in Data Science. Though studying data science laid a solid foundation for interdisciplinary research, she decided she didn’t want to sit at the computer coding all day.
It was a campus research assistant position studying the impact of heatwave on urban population mobility with Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Huang Kangning that changed her academic trajectory.
It was a challenging position. With no background in environmental analysis, she had to learn a new set of analytical tools. But Professor Huang said, Ziyun was a fast learner. “I don’t think that widely exploring other majors was a disadvantage for her. Instead, it nourished her research perspective, as environmental studies is inherently interdisciplinary,” he said. The experience helped Ziyun find a way to connect nature and human beings through data science, and she decided to major in Social Science (environmental studies track).
During her study away semesters in New York and Abu Dhabi, Ziyun took courses that allowed her to explore her major more deeply. In the course Urban Greening Lab: New York, she studied how invasive species threaten the biodiversity of Governor’s Island, off the coast of Manhattan. She and her classmates removed invasive species, grew new plants, and documented different species they observed on the island. While studying at NYU Abu Dhabi, Ziyun took a course Where the City Meets the Sea, where she researched flooding and the unique environmental challenges in the gulf region.
Ziyun’s commitment to research allowed her to travel even farther. She presented at the American Geophysical Union’s 2023 and 2024 fall meetings. Gao Xuyan, from Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, attended AGU 2023 with her and was impressed by her drive, even while managing a busy course load. “Every participant was stunned that an undergraduate student was already able to conduct such rigorous research,” she recalled.
In 2023, she was the first NYU Shanghai student awarded funding to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing in Orlando, the world’s largest tech conference for women in STEM. She left the conference inspired by all the women of different professions she met there.
But Ziyun didn’t want to just be inspired; she wanted to inspire others as well. Throughout her time at NYU Shanghai, she served as a mentor for secondary school girls interested in careers in STEM, as part of a program organized by Samsung that she had participated in as a high school student.
“The ultimate goal is not to make STEM their only path, but to give them confidence and the opportunity to explore what they are truly passionate about,” Ziyun explained. Through the program, she supported her mentees to find their interests. “It’s important that we can help them see themselves more clearly,” she said.
On campus, Ziyun served as a key volunteer teacher for a community English learning initiative run by the Community-Engaged Learning Office to help build relationships between facilities, cafeteria, and security staff and international students. Security staff member Wang Xidong, who attends the class, had high praise for Ziyun’s teaching skills. “She teaches even better than my high school English teacher,” he said. “We bring real-world scenarios to the class to practice, and it has been really useful.”
Ziyun also found meaning through roles as a Career Peer Advisor (CPA) at the Center for Career Development (CCD) and a Student Ambassador at Candidate Weekend, allowing her to work with younger students and support them to find their path. “It is okay if you have not yet figured out your interests. But whatever you do, enjoy the process. It is true that the result is important, but the process is also meaningful for self-discovery,” she said.
Ziyun found her path by following her interests, whether it be exploring nature, combining environmental studies with data science, mentoring young people, or volunteer teaching. In the fall, Ziyun will head to Yale University, after being awarded a scholarship to pursue advanced environmental studies. Looking back, Ziyun said that everything she has done has shaped who she is today. “Be yourself,” she advises students, “Don’t try to be anyone else.”