CSSH graduates are ready to enter ‘the world as we know it’
Northeastern’s College of Social Sciences and Humanities presented bachelor’s and master’s degrees to about 800 students on Monday.
Shari Cullen of Massapequa, New York, celebrated her daughter Emma Cullen’s undergraduate degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Northeastern University’s College of Social Sciences and Humanities by waving photographs of Emma as a 2-year-old.
“It just amazes me that she went from that to this, in the blink of an eye,” said Cullen. Emma’s father and two siblings also waved headshots of Emma as a toddler when the graduate was up on the podium at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston’s Seaport District.
“I’m a very proud mom today and always,” Shari Cullen said.
She was not alone. Families bore flowers, teddy bears and beaming smiles for the bachelor’s and master’s degree students. Many families stopped to pose for photos in front of a sign that said 2026 flanked by two large red N’s.
The 812 graduates, who majored in everything from English and criminal justice to international affairs and sociology, have a ones have a lot to be proud of, said CSSH Dean Kellee Tsai.
They made it through the COVID-19 pandemic that curtailed in-person schooling when the undergraduates were in high school and are facing the AI revolution head on in their professional lives. Tsai said it’s enough to bring to mind the 1987 R.E.M. song, “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.”
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“You’ve been forged by disruption,” she said. Tsai told the graduates they have emerged with skills of empathy and critical thinking that can be applied to any job or industry, as well as practical experience in the work world due to student co-ops.
The graduates are equipped to see opportunities where others can only see disruption, Tsai said, drawing a cheer when she said they have developed distinctively human attributes that “cannot and will not be automated.”
“It’s the beginning of the world as we know it, and I feel fine,” Tsai said.
Undergraduate student speaker Liza Sheehy was a perfect example of Northeastern’s experiential learning. She is now employed by a law firm, Goodwin Procter LLP, where she previously worked on a co-op. She took her first vacation day from her job in client development to speak at the college ceremony.
One of the creators of Northeastern’s Jewish Migration Project — a crowd-sourced public digital archive of the immigrant experience — Sheehy said Northeastern University showed the most effective way to be a global citizen is to be yourself.
“Go out in the world,” said Sheehy, who majored in history, culture and law. “But don’t lose sight of what grounds you.”
Bella Wood, the graduate school speaker, said the degree from CSSH gives students the tools to reflect analytically and compassionately about answers to questions that don’t always have clear solutions.
The founder of Ranch Lab, which promotes conservation models in agricultural settings across the American West, Wood received a master’s degree in public administration. She called her classmates “doers and dreamers,” adding, “I look forward to seeing where we all go.”
Faculty speaker Christopher Bosso, a professor of public policy and political science, said it has been the great joy of his life to teach college for 40 years. “I got to spend my life with people who love learning,” he said.
Five years from now, buy your favorite teacher a cup of coffee, Bosso said. They’ll know you mean thank you, he said.
Janet E. Garvey, a member of the Dean’s Strategy Council, former ambassador to Cameroon and Northeastern graduate, asked the new graduates to continue to support the university.
“Remember, Northeastern will continue to be your community, no matter where you land,” Garvey said.
Elena Leeds, who received an undergraduate degree in political science and sociology, said that, in addition to the people she met at Northeastern, she appreciated a co-op at a law firm that solidified her intention to attend law school. “It helped me understand what a law firm is like day to day,” Leeds said.
Her friend Camille Fei, who was graduating with a degree in sociology and international affairs and was accepted into a master’s program at the London School of Economics, said the College of Social Sciences and Humanities eased her switch in focus from a business major to humanities.
“This put me on a track to understand society and social systems,” and how to make them better, Fei said.
