Mayor of Huntington Ave. rallies student leaders
Northeastern student leaders gathered at a Mayor’s Brunch to discuss wins, challenges and new ways to support connection and belonging.
Third-year Northeastern University student Sam Iannone wears a lot of hats. He’s a presidential ambassador, a Husky ambassador tour guide, a Northeastern social media ambassador, president of Beta, Theta, Pi fraternity, and a founder and chair of the Student Government Association’s AI advisory board.
He is also the mayor of Huntington Avenue.
“It’s truly an amazing opportunity,” said the corporate innovation and AI student. “I feel so grateful to get to meet so many incredible students [and] student leaders through this role. It also feels cool to be a part of something bigger.”
The primary role of the mayor of Huntington Avenue is to be a voice for the students. The mostly symbolic position — first introduced at Northeastern in the 1950s and briefly brought back before the COVID-19 pandemic — is intended to build community and advance school spirit. The mayor exemplifies Northeastern’s mission statement and brings about engagement. Iannone was elected to the revived position for 2025. Since then, he has been a part of Northeastern’s signature events, including emceeing this year’s commencement, greeting new students at convocation and hosting Giving Day, an annual event when students raise money to support the organizations and causes that matter to them.
On Sunday, the mayor hosted dozens of Northeastern student leaders for a brunch to network, celebrate recent wins, share challenges and discuss new ways to collaborate and support each other.
“When you get so many student leaders together in one room, there’s so many great ideas,” said Iannone. “It’s a room of Northeastern’s best and brightest.”
The event brought together presidents and executive directors of student clubs and organizations, leaders of fraternities and sororities and captains of Northeastern athletic teams.
They discussed what makes the university special, the strengths of their organizations and the challenges they face — including the difficulties of being a student leader and helping Northeastern students feel connected and that they belong.
Luke Medalla, a media arts and communications studies student and executive director of Scout, a student-run design and web development studio, said it was rewarding to be part of a broader community committed to practicing their skills. Scout helps entrepreneurs in the Northeastern ecosystem develop brands, design logos and build websites. As executive director, Medalla works with prospective clients, supports other studio leaders and ensures the projects run smoothly.
“It’s nice to feel I’m not alone in the journey of being the head of an organization, because it can be really daunting not knowing who I can ask for help, who would have this similar experience to me,” he said. “It’s really nice being able to come to events like this and meet people with similar experiences.”
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He was looking forward to learning from other leaders how they balance urgent short-term tasks with long-term strategic planning, essential to an organization’s longevity, he said.
Loyd Joseph, an international project management student from Haiti and president of the Haitian Student Unity organization, highlighted efforts to unite Haitian students on campus as well as Haitian student organizations across Massachusetts and develop future leaders. His organization, he said, introduces fellow Northeastern students to Haitian culture, which he described as energetic and collaborative.
“A lot of us cultural organizations tend to collaborate with other cultural organizations,” Joseph said. “I’m trying to really branch out, get to know other groups on campus and meet new people.”
Alexa Rand, a senior majoring in music industry, represented Diversability, a student-led disability advocacy club. As president of the group, she said she hoped the event would help her meet new people and raise awareness of the organization’s mission.
“We’ve made a really close-knit community, a safe space for all the disabled community here on campus to make friends and know that you’re not alone because a lot of us are going through the same struggles,” she said. “We serve as a resource and a liaison for students with disabilities.”
The student leaders talked about the most pressing challenges, such as funding and fundraising, recruitment, member retention and visibility.
Elections for a new mayor of Huntington Avenue will take place from Nov. 4 through Nov. 8. On Tuesday, Nov. 4, mayoral candidates will meet with students at 5:30 p.m. in Curry Student Center in second-floor suites.
