Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Visits BU MET to Congratulate City Scholars

On Thursday, February 9, Metropolitan College held its 12th Annual City of Boston Scholar Recognition Event at the College’s 1010 Commonwealth Avenue location. Joining to offer her support and admiration was Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who recently finished her first year as the person in charge of City Hall.

MET’s City of Boston program empowers metropolitan employees to take graduate courses towards a degree or certificate—at no cost, so long as the area of study is related to their area of work.

There were 28 City of Boston students being recognized for their commitment to ongoing learning and progressive success. In her remarks, MET Dean Tanya Zlateva said that the school was honored to be home for the cohort of uniquely motivated students, “who are working every day on behalf of residents to make Boston a vibrant place for work, family, and fun, while still finding time to pursue demanding studies here at Boston University.”

Mayor Wu provided inspiring remarks at the event, and in a later Twitter statement lauded the BU MET program, saying it offers “opportunity for our City’s public servants to invest in [and] grow their education!” Boston’s Chief People Officer Alex Lawrence also spoke to those gathered, as well as City of Boston Scholar Benjamin McNeil (Questrom’21), a recent alum of the program.

A host of representatives from Boston University were in attendance, including Vice President of Government & Community Affairs Jake Sullivan; Vice President for Budget, Planning, and Business Affairs Derek How; Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Lou Chitkushev; Associate Dean of Enrollment and Student Affairs Carl Sessa; and Assistant Dean for Admissions & Enrollment Jon Korhonen. Also among the attending BU faculty and staff were Yeşim Sungu-Eryilmaz, interim director of MET’s City Planning & Urban Affairs master’s degree programs, and David Stolow, co-faculty director of Questrom’s Social Impact MBA program, who congratulated their former students.

As Dean Zlateva explained, all of the gathered MET faculty, staff, and students appreciated Boston’s mayor making time to recognize this vital example of education success.

“I want to thank Mayor Wu for her leadership and stress Boston University’s continued commitment to the City of Boston Scholars program,” said the Dean. “Our partnership empowers the City of Boston’s high-performing and diverse workforce and supports the growth and development of individuals and communities where we live and work.”