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 vitality of over 200 residents, alumni, and friends 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 circulate, guided by Saeed Ahmad, a New York–primarily based legal professional, current Harvard Regulation 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 fascinating 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 fact mirrored,” Ahmad remarked in his opening handle. “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 straightforward 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 many years has embodied the values of empathy, friendship, and cross-cultural change 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 option to promote cultural understanding by way of 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.
As we speak, Fall Fiesta continues to honor HR’s legacy by bringing collectively residents from over 100 international locations to share their abilities, rejoice 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 permits us to leverage the alternatives offered, and function examples of the American Dream.”
As the ultimate applause echoed by way of the Nice Corridor, one message resonated clearly: Worldwide Home New York stays a residing image of world unity—the place artwork, friendship, and shared expertise join folks from each nook of the world.
Saeed Ahmad is a Pakistani-American M&A and capital markets legal professional at Sidley Austin LLP in New York Metropolis. A graduate of Harvard Regulation Faculty, he obtained the Dean’s Award for Group Management and serves as a Visiting Fellow on the Harvard Regulation Faculty Spiritual Freedom Clinic. He’s additionally a 2025–2026 Worldwide Home (New York) Program Fellow.
Raised in Corona, California, Ahmad started his educational journey at Norco School, the place he earned three affiliate levels, earlier than transferring to UCLA and graduating in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology. Earlier than regulation 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 regulation college, Ahmad constructed a broad-based authorized portfolio, together with roles on the Supreme Courtroom of Pakistan, a boutique business litigation agency in Los Angeles, and a company regulation agency in New York. On campus, he was energetic within the Harvard Affiliation for Regulation & Enterprise, the J.D. Admissions Fellows Program, and the Committee on Sports activities & Leisure Regulation. He additionally carried out analysis on style and copyright regulation in Japan and served as an editor of the Harvard Enterprise Regulation Assessment. As a pupil chief, he helped spearhead HALB’s worldwide trek to London & Dubai, organizing conferences with senior figures throughout regulation, finance, and world client manufacturers to show college students to the intersection of regulation and enterprise on a world stage.
Ahmad is the writer of So You Need to Go to Harvard Regulation, a information for aspiring regulation college students that blends private expertise with sensible recommendation on navigating the trail to top-tier regulation faculties.
