Team Player
Michael Dennehy was recently honored for his work with BU’s Upward Bound program.
The Boston Celtics recently presented Michael Dennehy (CAS’92), director of Boston University’s Upward Bound program, with a Heroes Among Us award in recognition of his “exceptional and lasting contributions” to the community. He was honored during a Celtics game at the TD Banknorth Garden on Friday, March 9.
Upward Bound is a federally funded college program for low-income Boston public high school students who are the first in their families to attend college. The students enter the program in 9th or 10th grade, spend six weeks in an intensive summer residential program at BU, and during the school year attend an after-school program of tutoring and academic courses on the BU campus.
Dennehy, who attended BU on a full-tuition, four-year scholarship through BU’s Boston High School Scholars Program, first became involved with Upward Bound during his junior year. He has directed the program since 1999.
Dennehy says that the program’s success is due to the efforts of many people. “I think the continuity in staffing and the respect we show to each other have been critical to building a good team dynamic,” he says. “So the accomplishments that the program has been able to make have really not been my accomplishments. They’ve been the accomplishments of the team.”
One of the most rewarding parts of his job, he says, is hearing from past students about their achievements. “They show the program’s a success,” he says.
Brittany Jasnoff can be reached at bjasnoff@bu.edu.