2023 Graduates are Welcomed into the Alumni Community
by Meredith Hutcheson
Photos by Ruby Wallau
The day was sunny and warm in the historic courthouse square of Redwood City, CA. Graduating students from Northeastern’s campuses in San Francisco and Silicon Valley were gathered at the picturesque Fox Theater to celebrate along with faculty and representatives from across the university. Family members and friends carried bouquets as they congregated on the stone, palm tree-lined sidewalks. Passers-by peeked curiously at the “Welcome, Northeastern Graduates!” sign on the marquee. Caterers rushed in and out through the stage doors with trays of hors-d’oeuvres.
For a cohort that began during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, it was an exuberantly in-person final celebration. And it quickly became clear that the theme of the day was a warm invitation to take up one’s place as part of the wider Northeastern community.
“My two years at Northeastern taught me resilience and proactivity. I am no longer afraid of any changes in my future because I know I can crash them down.”
– Haoran Zhang, MS in Computer Science, Khoury College of Computer Sciences
Getting out what you put in
“I am only here today because I stand on the shoulders of giants, so many people who have helped me to achieve success,” entrepreneur, executive, and investor Marquis Cabrera told the gathered graduates.
“We get out of relationships what we put into them. Chase your dreams, but realize that you must be interested in others’ dreams. Every year, I challenge you to ask three alumni: what are their goals? What do they dream of? And think about ways to help them.”
Cabrera, a Northeastern alumnus from the College of Social Sciences and Humanities Class of 2011, is as involved in the community as he asks its newest members to be.
He lives in Silicon Valley these days, where he runs Stat Zero, the public sector technology firm that he founded with the goal of “nudging the world towards zero disease, zero pollution, and zero poverty.” Despite his busy schedule, he has still made time to headline events at the Bay Area campuses. While sharing hard-won insights from his 
years as IBM’s youngest executive, or working in the White House under President Obama, or building a technology system and non-profit while still in his teens, Cabrera never fails to assure the students in the audience: help is always available through your network.
“Remember that you have the power to write your story,” he said at commencement. “Speaking your truth will allow you to be your most authentic self and attract the right resources and people to support your dreams.”
Cabrera pointed out that two of his Northeastern connections were in the audience that day: friend and colleague Desmond Wong, who has sat on the board of both his current and past companies, and his wife, Dr. Lauren Jarmusz, a Double Husky who practices physical therapy and orthopedics at Stanford Healthcare.
“I was really moved by the words that the keynote speaker said during graduation: “if you are successful, then somebody wants you to be successful.” Success is not an individual accomplishment. You need a lot of support from the mentors, friends and family. My experience at Northeastern was just like that—I felt supported in every class I took and every project I accomplished.
Graduating with a Master’s degree in Computer Science with a background in Political Science and finding a job as a Data Engineer in a Fortune 500 company is definitely a success for me. And I wouldn’t be here where I am today without my Northeastern family.”
– Katerina Bosko, MS in Computer Science, Khoury College of Computer Sciences
One network, many individual paths
Another Double Husky spoke earlier in the day: Kristine Nnemka Umeh, who earned her Bachelor’s at the Boston campus with a double major in Chemical Engineering and Chinese, and has now completed the MS in Computer Science Align program through the Khoury College of Computer Sciences.
During her time in the Bay Area, Kristine completed two internships: one at Handshake, and a second at Lululemon which led to a job offer as a Junior Data Engineer. She also worked as a Student Ambassador for Khoury College, helping prospective students learn about the Align program.
“Let us be those crazy ones, the movers, the shakers, the dreamers, and the doers. Let us be the ones who don’t just witness change but drive it. Together!” she encouraged her fellow graduates.
As each person crossed the stage, they were greeted by the dean of their college and another Northeastern alumnus: Dr. Dawn Girardelli, Interim Dean and Regional CEO of Northeastern San Francisco and Silicon Valley, who earned her Ed.D. from the College of Professional Studies.
And before the ceremony came to a close, they were welcomed to the network by Alexandra Siegel, who graduated from the College of Arts, Media and Design in 2014. Siegel is the Vice President and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion – Talent at Expedia Group and has been named to Business Insider’s 30 and Under Tech Rising Stars.
“Wherever you are in the world, and in everything you do, you will always stand out as alumni of Northeastern University – recognized for your ambition, persistence, experience, and heart,” Siegel told the crowd. “I encourage you to tap this powerful network to build new relationships. A Northeastern degree is a passport to connect with the world.”
“My former boss (and now friend) said that I am not just graduating with a master’s degree, but I am finally becoming a master of my own destiny. Look out, world!”
– Lalaine Denia, MS in Project Management, College of Professional Studies
A shared commitment to impact
Keynote speaker Cabrera says his drive to do good work comes from his own history. After losing members of his birth family to death and incapacitation, he passed into the foster care system before his adopted family took him in at age 11. He credits their patience and a little strict parenting with helping him drop some of the recklessness that he’d learned from his uncertain young years. Still, he retained a sense of life’s fragility. “I was YOLO-ing before YOLO was a thing,” he joked, “because life seemed short-lived. I have always thought that tomorrow is not promised, because death affected me personally as a child.”
In his speech, he mentioned students from the Bay Area campuses who had shared with him their own commitment to giving back. Priyanka Chandak, who earned her MPS in Analytics, hopes to build a platform to support users’ mental and physical fitness. And Daniel Lisko, from the MS in Computer Science Align program, wants to use his new skills to build on his previous experience in biology and apply machine learning to RNA therapies.
Cabrera applauded these goals and encouraged the crowd to join him in the fight for zero inequality. “You have been given the passport of opportunity,” he said. “After today, continue to speak your truth; be you. After today, continue to be different; be curious. After today, continue to chase your dreams; hunt them down. After today, be fearless in moving the world towards zero, in your own way.”
Interim Dean Girardelli, bringing the ceremony to a close, echoed his sentiments. “I ask each of you, as you grow beyond this time and place: how will you put your education to use? What will be your gift to the world? ”
“I hope you give your time, energy, and resources to causes for which you have passion,” she told them. And, voicing the wishes of the rest of the proud faculty and staff, “I hope that you will come back and tell us what you are doing next and how you will change the world.”
