Photo Essay: A degree is nice but the real reward was the people we became

Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi was like a second home that fostered a great sense of curiosity in me

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  Students from Sorbonne University arrive at sunset for their graduation at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  Students gather to prepare before going into the hall

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  A staff member at the university checks the scrolls before they are presented

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  A graduate uses their phone to sort her hair before going on stage

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  Two friends smile as the nerves before the ceremony

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  Lots of selfies are taken before the ceremony

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  A friend helps sort a cap

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  There were 217 students in the graduation class with 36 countries represented

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  This is the 15th Graduation Ceremony by ⁠Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi

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  Friends and family take pictures as students go on stage

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  The National reporter Ahmed Al Mansoori receives his Master's in Applied Sociological Research

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  Degrees were awarded across various disciplines, including 146 Bachelor’s degrees, 66 Master’s degrees and five diplomas

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  There were smiles all round as students walked off stage

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  The stage manager observes the show from backstage

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  The university in Abu Dhabi was established in May 2006

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  Undergraduate were address by Olympian Omar Al Marzooqi

For most of the ceremony, I did not experience all the feelings I thought I'd feel when I passed my degree in September. On the other hand, I don’t think our families realised that we had finished until our names were called and we stood in our gowns and caps to receive our diplomas. Leaving the stage, meeting my parents and seeing the gleam in their eyes made me finally feel it, and married our emotions in a warm embrace.

For the past two years, Sorbonne University became a second home to me, I spent more time there than anywhere else. My life was coded with long, restless nights, quitting passed my mind every term but family and friends steadied my steps whenever they faltered. Some credit needed to go to the university library as well, I often came early to finish my readings or take a much-needed nap.

Sorbonne, being a French university, did not feel foreign at all to me. Emiratis and international students blended effortlessly. Each friend group was as international as the university was. The experience there was great. I met teachers who would inspire my future and ones who fed my curiosity and helped it to grow. I'd do it all over again.

We’ve gained some expertise, but the true change was in how we thought. At every turn, through every course, we had to look at the same issues in different ways. If you do a Master's, don’t do it for a degree, do it because the person that goes in will be different than the one that comes out. In Bachelor’s, we studied almost everything in our field but a Master's was us pointing a finger at something specific and saying I want to learn more about that for the next two years. For context, I studied International Affairs and genuinely found most things interesting, but sociology made me the most curious which is why I opted to study Applied Sociological Research in Sorbonne.

Lastly, I’d like to congratulate my classmates and myself for this milestone and urge them to utilise what they’ve learnt to make the world a better place, one nugget of knowledge at a time.