Ruochen Shen (ROH-chen SHEN) is a member of NYU class of 2022. She is a concert-goer, museum-lover, and an aspiring art journalist. She loves plants and is in her third year volunteering at an environmental education NGO called Sprout Up.

In high school, she turned down the invitation from the math club and spent her time painting and improving her French.

At NYU, she unleashes her inner creative monster and looks into performances in everyday life. She acts and does performance art projects on the side. She feels very connected to the PS community and is proud to volunteer for the department. She is currently in the process of brainstorming for her undergraduate thesis.

Study Away Site(s):

Paris

Why PS @ NYU?

Performance Studies wasn't on my college-search radar. I transferred into the department a year into college and realized this program is made for someone like me. 

Senior year of high school, I was debating between going to an art school or going to a liberal arts college to do interdisciplinary studies. Never received any rigorously training in art, I felt like was too old to begin as a visual artist and too young to write theories about art. Performance Studies proves to me I'm neither of them. Here, I find my place to write and make art projects.