Northeastern’s leaders and administrators welcomed nearly 5,000 students to Matthews Arena Sept. 3, celebrating the school’s 126th class. Beyond the Boston campus, convocation ceremonies were held on Northeastern campuses in London, Oakland and at 10 N.U.in locations.
Boston’s convocation, which was live-streamed to N.U.in locations, included pre-show performances from the Kinematix Dance Troupe, NU Rangila and Kaliente, Northeastern’s original Latin dance team. The men’s and women’s ice hockey teams also ran out on stage later during the ceremony, brandishing their respective Beanpot trophies from the spring 2024 season.
Senior Vice President for Global Network and Strategic Initiatives Mary Ludden kicked off the ceremony by greeting first-year students and emphasizing Northeastern’s global opportunities.
“As Huskies, you’ll learn to recognize each other wherever you are in the world: smart, ambitious, fearless and ready to make an impact wherever you go,” Ludden said. “Northeastern’s global network is now yours to explore.”
Afterward, the deans of each college welcomed students, beginning with College of Engineering Dean Gregory Abowd.
“Engineering is about solving problems. But no problem in this world is strictly about engineering,” Abowd said to the crowd. “Problems of the world involve business, art, computer science, biology. We encourage you to work across disciplines to find solutions for the important problems of today’s world.”
Many administrators’ speeches highlighted the co-op program, which Ludden called “the definitive Northeastern experience.” The 2024-25 academic year marks the 115th year of the co-op program, which was initially only available to College of Engineering students.
College of Science Dean Hazel Sive spoke about the importance of scientific research and the opportunities co-op provides to students.
“Through co-op, you’ll have unprecedented opportunities to work in top research groups and top research institutions at a level usually reserved for graduate training,” she said.
The new academic year is also the centennial anniversary of Northeastern’s Student Government Association, or SGA.
Before the ceremonial lighting of the torch, Cassidy Donoghue, a third-year political science major and executive vice president of SGA, told students to “dive in head first” into their college experience.
“The best decision I made as a freshman was getting involved in as many student organizations as possible, and with over 500 clubs — including absolutely everything from SGA all the way to Cheese Club — there’s truly something for everyone here,” she said. “Make your time at Northeastern something your future selves will be proud of, and don’t waste a second pursuing anything short of your dreams.”
SGA President Matthew Coughlin, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, shared two main pieces of advice with the incoming freshmen: “dive in head first” and “savor the moments.”
“You are going to meet a group of students who are more diverse, more engaging and more passionate than you could ever have fully imagined,” Coughlin said before lighting the ceremonial torch. “So my advice: Embrace the connections and savor the moments as it is those relationships that are going to take you so far.”
President Joseph E. Aoun then took the stage, telling students to take advantage of the global experiences offered at Northeastern.
“Don’t limit yourself to Boston,” Aoun said toward the end of his speech. “Don’t be comfortable in Boston. Come here and leave. … Go explore the whole world through co-op, through Dialogue [of Civilizations], through studies overseas.”
After convocation wrapped, Edlawit Zewde, a first-year student in the Explore program, said she felt excited about the coming years.
“I’m very nervous, but I’m also very excited,” Zewde told The News. “I’m so excited to take a bunch of classes in the different colleges and make so many friends and experience so many new things.”
Segi Mazzarino, a first-year student in the Explore program, said that she is also excited to take on global opportunities during college.
“I feel excited to start and to travel and go to different campuses,” she said.
The end of the ceremony featured student performers dancing and singing, cheerleaders performing a routine and the entire arena being showered in red and white confetti.
“The campus is not going to define your life,” Aoun said. “The world is going to define your life and your experience.”
Editor’s Note: This article was updated Sept. 7 at 10:15 a.m. to correct Matthew Coughlin’s quote from “Savor the tensions” to “Savor the moments.”
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