Questioning where his life was heading, Konstantinos Spiliotis said he skipped his May 1 graduation and left home for almost three weeks to take some time off and figure out what options lay ahead of him.

Spiliotis, a computer science major, was discovered in New York City outside of a Manhattan bank Thursday, his father said. John Spiliotis said he and his wife received word about their son’s whereabouts from the Medford Police Department. The two then rented a car and drove to New York with the hopes of finding their son.

Once in the city, John said he and his wife Joanne stood outside an ATM, which they had heard their son had been using.

“We kept going from one ATM to another and I say ‘thank God, thank God’ we stood in one place because I saw my son, Kosta, go into the bank to get money and as soon as I saw that, my legs started shaking and my heart started pumping. I let him go into the bank to get his money and then I went inside and as soon as he saw me we hugged and cried together, me, him and his mother,” John said.

After the family was reunited, they spent the next two days in New York siteseeing, which is how Spiliotis said he had already been spending his time in the Big Apple.

Spiliotis said he started off walking around Revere Beach, went to Nahant, then to a Lynn train station and finally to South Station. From there he went to Providence for a couple of days before spending the rest of his time in New York staying at different motels here and there.

Spiliotis said he wanted some time off but wasn’t sure when he would get it. Spiliotis decided the day before graduation, after his father dropped him off at the Sullivan Square T station, to take the time off he needed. If his parents had not found him Thursday, Spiliotis said he probably would have come home soon anyway.

Even though Spiliotis said he saw some articles about his disappearance in the news, he did not call home because he wanted some time without stress.

“I had a lot to deal with and there was a lot of strain being the last semester before graduation. I just needed some time without all the strain,” he said.

Spiliotis’ father said he is just happy to have his son home and said he is “flying” from happiness.

“We are all very happy, very very happy. I am just so glad,” John said.

After the previous two semesters in which seven students died, the university released a statement that this time focused not on death, but on thanking the people involved in bringing back one of its students alive.

“We are extremely thankful that Konstantinos Spiliotis has been safely reunited with his family. We would like to express our appreciation to all of those involved who contributed to the investigation including the Northeastern faculty and students, the Office of Public Safety and the Medford Police Department. The entire Northeastern community is pleased for the Spiliotis family,” the statement said.

Spiliotis had a meeting with one of his advisors Tuesday afternoon to discuss his future plans. Spiliotis said he assumed he was going to be put in the class of 2005 because he missed some classes, but he said he plans on participating in the September commencement ceremony.

“I am still uncertain, I just wanted to see where to go after doing this for five years,” Spiliotis said.