On Oct. 24, NYU Abu Dhabi’s contracted staff enthusiastically made their way to the central plaza to participate in the first of a two-day Staff Appreciation event. Organized by Student Interest Group, Advocacy — under the lead of Fanisi Mbozi, Class of 2022 — with support from the Office of Social Responsibility, the event aimed to thank all contracted staff and domestic workers on campus for their hard work and daily contributions to the NYUAD community.

The Staff Appreciation Day event brought together everyone on campus — from contracted staff and students to faculty and campus kids —through singing and dancing. Over the course of two days, around 800 contracted staff participated in the festivities along with 100 volunteers, comprised mostly of undergraduate students and a couple of faculty members and staff.

“Appreciation Day is one of the best campus events every semester; I might be biased in saying this given my involvement in it since my Freshman fall,” said Advocacy President Evangeline Louise Gerodias, Class of 2020. “I see it as a time for us to get to know our contracted staff better — beyond our day to day interactions — which we do by sharing our stories through conversations, dancing or singing. It is also about community spirit because we come together as members of the NYUAD community to recognize and celebrate our contracted staff, who are a big part of this community.”

Baljit Kumar, a Serco staff member, kicked off the event with a melodious Bollywood song. Hosts Salote Veisamasama, Class of 2021, and Andrew Riad, Class of 2022, kept the attendees entertained with a wide range of performances, games and raffle draws. In collaboration with the US Embassy Abu Dhabi, the event featured a special guest performance by the US Air Force Band, as part of Discover America week in the UAE.

These two days also provided a platform for the contracted staff on campus to show off their talents and cheer on their friends’ performances with food and beverages.

“I was very nervous and shy while performing today but it was really great to share a song with my friends in the audience,” said an excited Jaq Oquendo, a SERCO staff, after his heartwarming performance.

“I want to give a big thank you to NYUAD for these two days. I am enjoying very much and I think for the first time in my life I got such a prize,” exclaimed Julie Jomon, a Global Wings staff. “It’s very amazing. I have never seen such treatment for the staff from the management’s side,” she continued.

Vice-Chancellor Mariët Westermann also addressed the audience, thanking the contracted staff and domestic workers present for their incredible work on campus. Other departments on campus like the Office of Community Outreach also extended their support to the event by providing banners. Multiple SIGs such as Ecoherence, Scribble and Dongari also helped with organizing various activities and games for the attendees.

“[Staff Appreciation Day] is extremely nice and students are so accommodating,” said an ecstatic Teresita Sanchez, a Global Wings Staff, after having just won a raffle prize. “I am extra happy now as I had never won the raffle before in six years!” she exclaimed.

“It was really nice to see people enjoying it and doing [Carribean dance] with me. At the end of the day, our aim was just to share our culture and say thank you in the way we know best,” said Gabrielle Branche, Class of 2021, who conducted an upbeat Carribean dance activity that got everyone in the audience up on their feet.

The energetic environment was fueled even further by an exciting game of Limbo. Contracted staff bent every single bone in their bodies while the audience cheered loudly with multiple rounds of applause. The two days of celebrations ended with a final round of raffles and hundreds of tired but wide smiles.

“Watching my friends perform makes me happy and I think this is a good thing to encourage them to improve their talents,” said Hanmandlu Bos, a SERCO staff. “I hope they will continue [Staff Appreciation Day] because we are away from our families, this makes us all very happy.”