A time of reflection for Northeastern seniors

Deirdre Keane ran her first marathon as a senior at Northeastern in honor of her father, an Irish immigrant, who passed away from cancer when she was 13 years old. Twelve years later, Keane has completed 50 marathons and turned her father’s passion into part of her identity.

Northeastern researcher Jen Cunha has unlocked new discoveries about what parrots — among the most intelligent animals in captivity — are capable of. Her 11-year-old Goffin’s cockatoo can read basic words, draw 14 letters on a touchpad with her beak, and communicate a wide array of complex feelings and requests on her tablet.

Nearly two years since her evacuation from Afghanistan, Khadija Arian is a Northeastern University student, studying finance, learning to audit and heading off to a co-op — all opportunities she wouldn’t have had if she hadn’t fled when the Taliban took over. She has found friends in her new country and plans to stay. “Northeastern is my home away from home,” Arian says.

When John Lenard Rivera was 11, a typhoon destroyed his family’s home in the Philippines. So they moved to Tondo, a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Manila. There, he saw people dying in the streets. But Rivera’s circumstances didn’t stop his ambition. He set his sights on earning a scholarship to attend Northeastern. At Sunday’s commencement, Rivera will receive his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

Members of the Class of 2023 look back on their time at the university and ahead to future endeavors. In anticipation of Sunday’s commencement exercises at Fenway Park, Northeastern Global News invited eight undergraduate students to share their experiences of professional and personal growth.