Northeastern London graduates embrace the pioneer spirit
London undergraduates, postgraduates and apprentices celebrate historic firsts during a ceremony in the sun at the famed Barbican Centre.
LONDON — In a sun-drenched ceremony at Barbican Centre, graduating students at Northeastern University London celebrated the pioneer spirit that united them as they achieved a historic series of “firsts.”
Undergraduate student speaker Cara Mack said the class of 2026 had learned a powerful sense of initiative and independence from being the first to take new courses in new environments at Northeastern University London, as “our little university has grown so much over the past three years.”
Mack arrived in London from Wake Forest, North Carolina, in 2023, expecting to stay for four months as part of the Global Scholar study-away experience. But after falling in love with life by the Thames, she was able to transfer into a full three-year degree course, which helped set a pathway for many others to follow.
She is now a member of the first full-time Northeastern University London class to graduate the double degree program, taking home a British law degree on Tuesday and will complete a U.S. law degree in Boston next summer.
“As a cohort, we got to experience many firsts, from first classes in new buildings, first co-ops, first study-abroads, and the first continuing on to Boston for our fourth year to get a double-degree or master’s,” she told the 1,400 people assembled in the famed Barbican Hall. “It can be absolutely terrifying to be the first,” she added. “But it’s also one of the most rewarding feelings in the world. You get to be the first.”
Some 280 graduates assembled for the Northeastern London 2026 convocation. The ceremony itself marked a historic step for Northeastern’s campus in the British capital, as the first ceremony to bring together undergraduates, postgraduates and degree apprentices, who have worked full-time while earning a debt-free undergraduate or master’s degree.
The spirit of stepping out into the unknown shaped the ceremony’s talks. Having negotiated the countless new developments as students, today’s graduates enter a fast-changing world where their experience will serve them well, explained keynote speaker Lord Karan Bilimoria, an entrepreneur and member of the House of Lords. Bilimoria said the assembled students are well placed to embrace a time when uncertainty is the norm.
“Sitting where you are now. Did I ever dream of what would unfold over the decades ahead of me? Did I know which paths my life would take?” What sets Northeastern apart from other universities is an “entrepreneurial spirit,” which will power them as they chart their own course, he said. “Entrepreneurship is embedded into whichever campus of Northeastern University you’re part of.”
New learning experiences
Graduates tossed their caps in the air in front of the fountains of the Barbican Centre, a gargantuan arts gallery and cultural complex, famed for its historically listed Brutalist architecture and its program of world-leading musical events. Many agreed they had been drawn to Northeastern University London – a fast-rising institution that moved to its home in St Katherine’s Docks in 2021 – the chance to become early adopters of new learning experiences, courses, and opportunities to combine work with learning.
Seren Mills, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and philosophy, said the university was one of only a handful that offered her degree in 2023. Arriving from Cardiff in Wales, she immediately found a close, international group, but also found that the university changed “100%” during her time here. “It’s growing and evolving by the day, with new staff, new students, but also new initiatives and new programmes that they’re trying to launch,” she said.
She valued the rare opportunity to shape the ethos of an institution, with new societies and events, as well as faculty and staff keen to “find out what works and what doesn’t,” she said.
“We get to make our mark and give feedback and see it actually be implemented, which when you’re like a Northeastern alum now, forever, is going to be exciting to see behind us,” added Mills, who is remaining at Northeastern London for the next year as the student union’s sabbatical president.
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It was a feeling echoed by fellow speaker Vyom Agarwal, who earned the Leadership Prize for Campus-Based Students, as he balanced an economics degree with three co-ops: “We were pioneers. Slightly confused, occasionally sleep-deprived pioneers. But pioneers nonetheless.”
A ceremony that ended with the eruption of confetti cannons celebrated the London campus’s role as one part of a truly global university. Dean Scott Wildman compared the group in the room to the diversity of the 2026 World Cup “drawn from across the globe, competing and collaborating, and ultimately achieving together.”
Sofia Rendon, a graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree in politics and international relations, was drawn by the chance to study as part of an American university while living in London. “It’s great – it’s the multicultural, international experience,” said Rendon, who has secured a role at Broxel, a Google-partnered Fintech platform. Her mother, Diznarda Zuloaga, said she had loved visiting and seeing her life in the British capital. “It’s not only the academic but having the chance to mature and grow in a different country. It’s fantastic.”
