Why I Chose Northeastern and Why I'm So Happy I Did

Hi everyone! My name is Kaitlyn Doughty, and I am a third-year nursing major and public health minor at Northeastern University. I am involved in the Student Nurses club on campus called NUSNA, a Bouve Fellow where I mentor first year nursing students, and a Bouve Ambassador where I reach out to prospective future Bouve students. I have always enjoyed being an involved member of my community and am so thankful I got to continue that in college. I love talking to students about my experience in Bouve and Northeastern so when I was informed about the opportunity to write about my experiences in this blog I jumped at the chance.

A bit about me and my journey to Northeastern, I am from Yarmouth Maine, a small coastal town about 2 hours away from Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up in a small town with very little diversity and opportunity for new experiences, I knew I wanted to attend college in a big city. I loved that Northeastern was able to offer close proximity to world renowned Boston hospitals and provided a great campus with plenty of green space to hang out with friends. I knew that Northeastern was my top choice after touring the university in my sophomore year of high school. I enjoyed my time on campus so much that I decided to come back for a two-week pre-college nursing program here prior to my senior year.

During the program, I was able to stay on campus in East Village, eat at the dining halls, and get to know other students with similar interests to me (one of which goes to Northeastern with me now and we are still good friends!). I was able to learn more about the nursing program at Northeastern and confirm that a career in nursing was something I wanted to pursue. The program offered CPR certification, community outreach on the Bouve Van, and an informative panel from Bouve Faculty. We also got the opportunity to explore Boston’s Faneuil Hall, Red Sox Games, and escape rooms. Through this experience I realized that Northeastern was the place for me and was overjoyed to receive an acceptance from the university and later decided to pursue my Bachelor of Science in Nursing here.

Now that I’ve told you a bit about why I chose Northeastern, let me tell you about the reasons I am so happy I did. I have had so many amazing adventures since coming to Northeastern, both university specific events and simply exploring Boston in general. Although Fall and Summer tend to be my favorite seasons in Boston there were still so many amazing things to do in the Winter as well. I went ice skating in historic Matthew’s Arena with my friends, went to Haylor Night at Big Night Live where they played Harry Styles and Taylor Swift music all night, and attended Northeastern hockey games and Boston Bruins games. In the Fall and Summer, I went to the aquarium, had picnics on the Charles River, and went to six flags with my friends. I also got to go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts (where Northeastern students get free admission every day of the year). Even as I write this blog post I am preparing to go to the Boston Calling Music Festival which is a three-day concert event at Harvard. One thing I love that Northeastern does is that they offer discounted ticket prices for summer events such as Boston Calling, Six Flags, and even trips to Provincetown MA on Cape Cod.

Another reason I am so happy I chose Northeastern is that I am beginning my first co-op experience this July-December. I will be working at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital working in the Mother Baby Unit and I am absolutely ecstatic to start working. I know that I want to stay in Boston after graduation so the opportunity of working in a Boston hospital before I even begin my third year is a dream come true.

I remember how stressful the college decision process was, and I hope that someone out there finds this post helpful. I am really happy that I chose to go to college where I did, and I genuinely wouldn’t change it for the world. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Until next time,

Kaitlyn :)

Email: doughty.ka@northeastern.edu