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Three words that define your journey at Northeastern

Nothing. Everything. Grateful.

Why Analytics?

I chose analytics because it sits at the intersection of everything I care about—manufacturing, problem-solving, and impact. From identifying millions of dollars in savings at Trident Group to building analytics infrastructure for over a million dollars in inventory at Web Industries, I have seen what data can do when it meets a real problem. My mission is to bring together AI and data in manufacturing, and this field is the bridge.

Why Northeastern?

I chose Northeastern for the analytics program and the co-op. I stayed for the community I never expected to find. The challenge was building a life from scratch in a country where nobody knew my name. The opportunity was discovering that Northeastern is not one community—it is hundreds. OGS, Lead360, CSI, CPS Digital Ambassadors, the Boston Public Library Fund—every door I knocked on opened. I came for a degree. I leave with a life.

What were your biggest challenges?

Starting from zero. I arrived at CPS with no American connections, no family, and a broken laptop. I did not know how to navigate the MBTA, buy groceries, or build a life from scratch. I overcame it by refusing to wait for community to find me. I went and built it. Within twelve months, I held ten campus roles and volunteered with ten Boston organizations. CPS did not hand me belonging. It gave me the space to create it.

First-generation uncertainty was another challenge. No one in my family had pursued a master’s degree, let alone abroad. There was no blueprint, no one to call and ask what comes next. I overcame it by deciding that if no road existed, I would build one—and that mindset carried me from India to Boston.

What has your journey at Northeastern taught you?

Northeastern revealed that my greatest strength was never analytics or problem-solving—it was showing up. Showing up for students who needed a mentor. Showing up for communities that welcomed a stranger. Showing up for myself on the days I wanted to quit. Every role, every volunteer shift, every late night taught me the same lesson: who you are when you show up matters more than what you know when you arrive.

The most valuable lesson: success is not what you achieve—it is what you make possible for someone else. The moment my mentee landed his co-op meant more to me than any award on my wall. That realization shaped everything—every role I took, every Saturday I volunteered, every student I sat with. Northeastern taught me that the measure of your journey is not how far you go, but how many people you bring with you.

Success is not what you achieve—it is what you make possible for someone else.

Hritik Kabra

Any advice for others considering the College of Professional Studies?

Come with a plan. Leave with a story. The coursework will give you skills. The co-op will give you experience. But the people—the mentors, the staff, the friends you did not expect—they will give you a life you never planned for. That is what CPS gave me.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Honestly, I want to be someone’s answer to the question “who helped you get here?” Five years from now, I want to be established in AI-driven manufacturing, giving back to the communities that gave to me, and mentoring the next first-generation student who just landed somewhere new with no connections and no safety net. The career will follow the work. What matters is that someone, somewhere, says: Hritik showed me it was possible.

What are some of your hobbies and personal passions?

I explore places, meet people, and collect stories. Whether navigating a new Boston neighborhood or volunteering with a community I had never encountered before, I am drawn to the unfamiliar. Every culture I experience, every conversation with a stranger, teaches me something no classroom can. That curiosity is what brought me from a small town in India to Boston—and it is what keeps me knocking on every door I find.

Why share your story?

I wanted to share my story because the student I was 589 days ago needed to see someone like me and know it was worth it. Every first-generation and international student who is wondering whether to take the leap deserves to see that it is. This story is my way of saying: come. It will be worth more than you can imagine.

Here is what 589 days at Northeastern looks like: a student who borrowed a laptop to survive his first semester. Dozens of students mentored, ten nonprofits served, four university-wide awards, and a seat on the board of the library that saved him. From borrowing to belonging. From surviving to serving. That arc is a story every first-generation and international student deserves to see—because it says: the plan was to survive, but the community had a bigger plan.