October 24, 2025 | New York, NY
On a crisp autumn night in Morningside Heights, the Nice Corridor at Worldwide Home New York got here alive with music, dance, and the colourful power of over 200 residents, alumni, and company gathered for the 2025 Fall Fiesta—one of many establishment’s most beloved and enduring traditions.
Among the many highlights of the night was this system’s seamless move, guided by Saeed Ahmad, a New York–based mostly lawyer, current Harvard Legislation Faculty graduate, and present I-Home resident, who served as Grasp of Ceremonies. With humor, poise, and heat, Ahmad launched a lineup of performances that mirrored the immense variety and inventive excellence of the I-Home group.
The night featured a charming array of performances—from spoken phrase poetry and classical piano to conventional dance and opera—every act providing a glimpse into the cultural richness that defines life at Worldwide Home. As Ahmad launched every performer, he reminded the viewers that past the artwork itself, Fall Fiesta is in the end a celebration of shared humanity.
“Throughout faiths and cultures, we see this reality mirrored,” Ahmad remarked in his opening deal with. “Whether or not it’s Muslims gathering for Ramadan Iftar, Hindus celebrating Diwali, Jews sharing Shabbat dinner, Christians assembly for Sunday service, or Worldwide Home residents coming collectively for Tea Time, Guide Membership, Mid-Autumn Pageant, or Hispanic Heritage Month. These moments remind us that human beings are wired for connection—that the easy act of coming collectively, sharing a meal, or celebrating artwork transcends borders and builds understanding.”
Saeed Ahmad’s reflections captured the enduring essence of Fall Fiesta—a celebration that for greater than six a long time has embodied the values of empathy, friendship, and cross-cultural trade that lie on the coronary heart of the Worldwide Home mission.
The custom dates again to 1964, when Program Director Herman “HR” Rottenberg, a spirited former businessman, first launched Fall Fiesta as a method to promote cultural understanding via the common languages of music, dance, and storytelling. The inaugural program featured All Nations, knowledgeable multiethnic dance troupe, setting a precedent for what has turn out to be a cornerstone of I-Home life.
Right this moment, Fall Fiesta continues to honor HR’s legacy by bringing collectively residents from over 100 nations to share their skills, have fun their heritages, and strengthen the bonds of group that outline Worldwide Home. Saeed famous how, “It’s our inclusive cultures and united sense of group that allows us to leverage the alternatives offered, and function examples of the American Dream.”
As the ultimate applause echoed via the Nice Corridor, one message resonated clearly: Worldwide Home New York stays a dwelling image of world unity—the place artwork, friendship, and shared expertise join individuals from each nook of the world.
Saeed Ahmad is a Pakistani-American M&A and capital markets lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP in New York Metropolis. A graduate of Harvard Legislation Faculty, he obtained the Dean’s Award for Group Management and serves as a Visiting Fellow on the Harvard Legislation Faculty Non secular Freedom Clinic. He’s additionally a 2025–2026 Worldwide Home (New York) Program Fellow.
Raised in Corona, California, Ahmad started his tutorial journey at Norco Faculty, the place he earned three affiliate levels, earlier than transferring to UCLA and graduating in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology. Earlier than legislation college, he labored as a Consumer Advisor on the Louis Vuitton flagship retailer on Rodeo Drive, gaining firsthand expertise in luxurious retail and consumer service.
Throughout legislation college, Ahmad constructed a broad-based authorized portfolio, together with roles on the Supreme Court docket of Pakistan, a boutique business litigation agency in Los Angeles, and a company legislation agency in New York. On campus, he was energetic within the Harvard Affiliation for Legislation & Enterprise, the J.D. Admissions Fellows Program, and the Committee on Sports activities & Leisure Legislation. He additionally performed analysis on vogue and copyright legislation in Japan and served as an editor of the Harvard Enterprise Legislation Evaluate. As a pupil chief, he helped spearhead HALB’s worldwide trek to London & Dubai, organizing conferences with senior figures throughout legislation, finance, and world client manufacturers to show college students to the intersection of legislation and enterprise on a worldwide stage.
Ahmad is the creator of So You Need to Go to Harvard Legislation, a information for aspiring legislation college students that blends private expertise with sensible recommendation on navigating the trail to top-tier legislation faculties.
