Goodbyes are never easy, and this month’s goodbyes are more permanent than those of the past.

With the end of this semester, we will say goodbyes to our first graduates, to the old Fish Market, to our neighborhood in Madinat Zayed and to the spaces that have held our university these last four years. Goodbye to explaining to taxi drivers how to get to Sama Tower — on the corner of Electra Street and Old Airport Road, next to NMC Hospital. Goodbye to ashtray showers and to the robotic female voice in the Sama elevators. Goodbye to walking to Abu Shakra for lunch and to Foodlands for dinner, and one last goodbye to the food in Sama Dining Hall — who knows what Saadiyat’s dining halls have in store…

In seriousness, our next step is to figure out how we will stay connected. How do we keep alive the lessons we have learned as time goes by? How do we hold on to the places and people that shaped who we have come to be?

As the semester ends, so ends a chapter in NYU Abu Dhabi’s history. But come August, the Saadiyat campus will open its doors to a fresh community, and the next generation of students will take up the upcoming phase of our university’s growth.

Wherever the world takes you, be it grad school or Google, study abroad or Saadiyat, The Gazelle will always be committed to creating connections. We will continue to produce independent journalism by our students, and we will continue to provide you with the heartbeat on campus, no matter where it may be. We will narrate the news, features and opinions important to our small but resilient university community, no matter where you are.

But for now, it’s time to say goodbye.

Thanks for everything, NYUAD. It’s been a great year.