Northeastern University: the story explained

Hilary Duff Delivers Northeastern University's 2026 Commencement Speech. Northeastern University has emerged this Friday as one of the stories drawing attention in Singapore.

Key facts

• Hilary Duff Delivers Northeastern University's 2026 Commencement Speech.
• Northeastern journalists earned student Emmy attention for their work covering the ins and outs of modern Spain.
• Zullo was part of a team of Northeastern University student journalists who essentially functioned as a traveling press corps during a month-long study abroad program known as a Dialogue of Civilizations.
• It was nominated for a 2026 New England Emmy Award, and earned New England Student Emmy Awards for seven Northeastern journalists, including Zullo.
• Huntington 100 inductees embody Northeastern values.

What we know

Going deeper, Northeastern journalists earned student Emmy attention for their work covering the ins and outs of modern Spain.

On the substance, Zullo was part of a team of Northeastern University student journalists who essentially functioned as a traveling press corps during a month-long study abroad program known as a Dialogue of Civilizations.

Beyond the headlines, it was nominated for a 2026 New England Emmy Award, and earned New England Student Emmy Awards for seven Northeastern journalists, including Zullo.

More precisely, Huntington 100 inductees embody Northeastern values.

It is worth noting that one of the more successful actresses and singers of her generation told graduating seniors from Northeastern Wednesday afternoon that it’s OK to feel confused about what the future may hold.

By the numbers

At this stage, About 5,000 Northeastern undergraduates and about 3,400 graduate students were expected to take part in separate graduation ceremonies Wednesday.

On a related note, Within the span of a month in summer 2025, Zullo had transformed into a pavement-pounding reporter who was now comfortable enough traveling alone in a rural part of Seville.

Going deeper, To prepare students for the four-week Dialogue program in 2025, Beaudet and Canavan took a two-pronged approach.

On the substance, Beaudet also divided the 16 students into four groups, each working on a Chronicle segment focused on a broad topic: food, tourism, history/culture and the students’ own experiences reporting in Spain.

What they're saying

“There would be small, little projects that would require us to talk with strangers around the country, and I feel like even doing stuff like that, we were able to get a better sense of the community overall, better than what I would get if I came to Spain by myself, without the backing of Northeastern,” she said.

“Graduating... isn’t about having everything figured out,” Hilary Duff, Wednesday’s commencement speaker, told the crowd at Fenway Park. “It’s about standing on the edge of something new and choosing what comes next.

“She is our childhood, so she was the perfect person,” said Leo Nixon who graduated with an accounting degree. “She did a good job encapsulating what the Northeastern experience is about, which is kind of unique and unconventional experience.”

The wider context

On a related note, Sitting in the back of a pickup truck that bounced up the side of a mountain toward a Spanish pig farm, Darin Zullo found it hard to believe that only a few weeks ago he had never been outside the U.S.

Going deeper, Led by investigative reporter and Northeastern professor Mike Beaudet and Northeastern Spanish lecturer Yanet Monica Canavan, the students reported on everything from flamenco dancers in Madrid to Spain’s plummeting birth rate.

On the substance, a conversation with Northeastern’s President Joseph E.

Beyond the headlines, For instance, they reported on the nation’s more than 8,000 cloistered nuns, who often seclude themselves but make and sell confectionery like marzipan to support their convents.

More precisely, Northeastern’s ceremony kicked off commencement season for Boston area universities, which includes other celebrity speakers in the region.

The bottom line

• It was nominated for a 2026 New England Emmy Award, and earned New England Student Emmy Awards for seven Northeastern journalists, including Zullo.
• One of the more successful actresses and singers of her generation told graduating seniors from Northeastern Wednesday afternoon that it’s OK to feel confused about what the future may hold.
• A conversation with Northeastern’s President Joseph E.
• Searches spiking right now: Photos: Hugs, tears and graduation cheers, Northeastern men’s crew fails to collect Smith Cup for 29th year, Level 2 sex offender accused of hiding in women’s bathroom at Northeastern, assaulting officers, Northeastern’s Merger With NYC College Finally Nears Finish Line.