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Three words that encapsulate your Northeastern University experience:

Transformative, expansive, empowering

Where are you from or where do you consider home?

I am from Rochester, New York, but Northeastern expanded my idea of home. Home now also feels like the communities I found across Boston, London, Toronto, and the many places where I studied, worked, and built a life while earning my degree.

What motivated you to continue through challenging times in obtaining your degree?

What kept me going was that my education always felt real. I never had to ask, “When am I ever going to use this in my life?” because I was using what I learned every day in work, leadership, and decision-making. I was also motivated by making time for my passions outside of class, like writing for the Northeastern University Political Review. Being published in NUPR gave me a way to stay connected to my passion for policy and workers’ rights, even while much of my day-to-day work was centered on business and project management. That balance reminded me that making space for what you care about can help you keep going during the hardest stretches.

What has your journey at Northeastern University revealed to you about yourself?

My journey at Northeastern revealed that the path I once thought I had to explain was actually one of my greatest strengths. After beginning college part-time elsewhere and later continuing at Northeastern, I used to describe myself as “untraditional.” Over time, I changed my mindset and started saying, “I’m lucky to have flexibility,” and, “I’m on an exciting and different path.” Northeastern showed me that I can build community anywhere and turn an unconventional path into a meaningful one.

Experiential learning is a core component of a Northeastern education. Describe some of the highlights for you.

Experiential learning shaped nearly every part of my Northeastern experience. I worked with my co-op company throughout my final years and earned a return offer, which allowed me to apply what I was learning in project management directly to my professional work. I also became the first-ever Network Connector while on co-op in Toronto, where I planned events that gave students a sense of belonging while living in a new city. Through Northeastern’s flexible online courses, I studied and worked remotely while traveling across 48 states and 30 countries, connected with the London campus, and saw firsthand how learning could move with me through real life.

Where do you imagine yourself five years from now?

In five years, I hope to have completed professional certifications in business, project management, or law and be working in a role that brings together advocacy, strategy, and technology. I am drawn to organizations that use innovation to solve real problems. In my free time, I hope to lead entrepreneurial ventures and volunteer for social initiatives on a larger scale.

Northeastern gave me much more than a degree. It gave me the freedom to build a life that was ambitious, unconventional, and fully my own. It taught me that there is no single right way to create a meaningful college experience or a successful future.

Sonia Harney

Is there anything else you wanted to say that we didn’t cover?

Northeastern gave me much more than a degree. It gave me the freedom to build a life that was ambitious, unconventional, and fully my own. It taught me that there is no single right way to create a meaningful college experience or a successful future. I would love to keep sharing that message with other students, especially those from nontraditional backgrounds who may still be finding confidence in their own path.

Connect with Sonia on LinkedIn.