When the class of 2016 at Northeastern University was finally celebrating the far-ranging accomplishments, lots of smiling faces of students, families, and friends gathered together in Boston’s TD Garden. What was even more interesting was a group of three men who clustered together in the crowd, shared not only just their surnames, but also the Northeastern Husky legacy.
Jared Pike, AMD’ 16 was accompanied by his father and grandfather, who were also Northeastern graduates – his father, Glenn Pike, AS’ 86 and his grandfather, Richard Pike E’61, MBA’66. Glenn had actually seen his father Richard be a Golden Graduate in the year 2011. However, during Jared’s graduation ceremony, it was different and even better.
“It hit me how cool it would have been to see him walking up the aisle back in 1966, in the old Garden, the same one that I graduated from 20 years after him,” said Glenn. “None of us could have imagined what was to happen this day, 50 years later.” Glenn is a senior digital media producer at the University’s External Affairs office, and hence he sorts of arranged a lot at the Commencement. He even congratulated and handed Jared his diploma, a pleasantly vital symbol of passing on the legacy.
“All three of us were under the same roof experiencing a celebration that my father had laid the foundation for,” said Glenn. “My son, who shares my birthday, excelled all the way through Northeastern and now, with a job from one of his co-ops, was a real-world example of how Northeastern can change your life. I felt tremendous gratitude for what the university had given us and for the opportunity we had to share that richness with one another.”
For Richard, only one word could’ve summed up his feelings on this special day – PRIDE, with all its ‘all caps’ glory. As for Jared, when asked about the possibility of a fourth-generation Pike Husky in the future, he laughed a lot and said, “I don’t know. I hope so.”
Pranjali Wakde
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