Northeastern celebrates thousands of graduates at Fenway Park
The undergraduate and graduate commencements featured memorable speeches, rousing performances, and calls for graduates to embrace the world and the era of AI with confidence.
One by one, thousands of graduates stepped onto Fenway Park’s fabled field, scanning packed grandstand seats for their families’ faces. They smiled, they leapt, they waved, they made heart signs with their hands. And then they filed into their seats–ready to take the final steps toward their degrees at Northeastern University.
Northeastern held its 124th Commencement ceremonies on Wednesday in Boston, celebrating the undergraduate and graduate classes of 2026.
President Joseph E. Aoun shared three lessons he said he learned from this year’s graduates: luck is a skill, imagination beats computation, and humanity is your superpower. He urged graduates to put these lessons into action, saying that their Northeastern education — amplified by real-world experiences, from entrepreneurship and publishing research to working on co-op across the globe — has prepared them well for what’s next.
“The future does not belong to those who predict it,” Aoun said. “It belongs to those who build it. And you, Class of 2026, are builders.”
Global superstar Hilary Duff addresses graduates
Multiplatinum singer, actress, author, and entrepreneur Hilary Duff delivered the commencement address to undergraduates. She saluted the soon-to-be degree-holders for all they have already accomplished and encouraged them to make choices that excite them, challenge them, and give them room to grow as they advance their careers, something she said she had come to understand from her own career.
“What you do might change, but who you are never has to,” Duff said. “Remember you’re not just building a career or a resumé; you’re building a life. You are the architect of your own happiness. You get to decide what belongs in your life. We only get one.”
A banner day at Fenway
The daylong commencement festivities — beginning in the morning to celebrate 3,400 graduate students and concluding in the afternoon for more than 5,000 undergraduates in attendance — featured inspiring speeches, rousing music and dance performances, and digital screens dropping virtual confetti.
In one stunning moment and taking full advantage of the historic location, a 5,760-square-foot vinyl banner reading “Congrats Huskies!” dropped across Fenway Park’s famous Green Monster. In another, to conclude the undergraduate ceremony, student a cappella and dance groups performed a rendition of Duff’s song “What Dreams Are Made Of” as the star herself joined in. Their performance was capped off by a brilliant display of fireworks and color bombs along the periphery of the stadium.
The day began misty and overcast before giving way to sunshine in the afternoon. Throughout, graduates cheered, hugged, snapped selfies, and waved flags from 153 countries. Standards from the U.S., India, and China were the most ordered, according to Northeastern’s marketing team. Thousands of guests — many donning Northeastern attire, others blankets for warmth — roared from Fenway’s red and blue stands.
A highlight of the class of 2026 included a mother and son sharing the day as fellow Northeastern graduates: Odette and Joshua Ramgeet, who earned degrees in project management and business administration, respectively. The pair reveled in the “surreal” opportunity to graduate together.
“It’s such a full-circle moment for us, and we’re just incredibly proud of each other and grateful for the journey,” Joshua Ramgeet said.
Words of wisdom from their peers
Student speakers shared impactful moments from their college journeys and delivered optimistic messages to fellow graduates. Evan Kenny, who graduated with a bachelor’s in behavioral neuroscience, recalled rediscovering his dream thanks to experiences that included mindfulness research, founding a nonprofit, and even summiting Mount Everest.
“Whatever your passion or your field of study, I urge you, become brave enough to surrender the outcome but to take that one step further that no one ever has, and with it, etch your own footprints into the fabric of time,” said Kenny, a Navy veteran and one of four undergraduate student speakers.
Daniela Gonzalez, one of three graduate student speakers, arrived at Northeastern having already earned a doctorate in biological science and 10 years of lab work experience. But starting her master’s in data science meant not only learning a new scientific field but, as a native of Argentina, also learning in a new language; her doctoral degree work was all in Spanish. Though initially intimidated, she realized her background would serve her well.
“Northeastern did not ask me to become someone else,” she said. “It asked me to become more of who I already was. It did not replace my language, my training, my story, the place I came from, the people I love. It multiplied them.”
Graduating into the AI era
Alan McKim, a global entrepreneur, Northeastern graduate, trustee, and philanthropist, delivered the Commencement address to graduate students, saying they are graduating into the fastest period of change in human history. McKim marveled at the power of AI, noting how his company Clean Harbors, the leading emergency-management response company in North America, has deployed the technology to improve efficiency and safety while keeping humans in the loop.
“AI will touch everything…everyone…everywhere,” said McKim, who received an honorary Doctor of Entrepreneurship. “And that is not your burden. It’s your opportunity.”
Aoun, Northeastern’s president, also emphasized AI’s impact in the world, but urged graduates to keep sight of what AI cannot do.
“AI cannot walk into the room and read what isn’t being said,” Aoun said. “I think you call it a ‘vibe check,’ right? No generation does a vibe check better than yours.”
He added: “In a world asking you to move fast, optimize, and reduce everything to a metric, your humanity is what sets you fully apart. The people who thrive won’t be the ones who compete with machines. They will be the ones who define a purpose and engender trust.”
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