Press Release

Bunker Hill Community College Receives Award for Promoting Higher Education for Low-Income Youth in Chelsea

Friday, April 23, 2010

Bunker Hill Community College was honored at a special dinner for its leadership role in promoting educational opportunities for at-risk youth. The non-profit organization “Bostonians for Youth” presented the College with the award on April 15, 2010.

The award honored BHCC for its role in the “Chelsea Compact,” a  recently-announced  collaboration  to promote higher education for low-income youth in Chelsea. BHCC, FUEL (Families United in Educational Leadership), and the University of Massachusetts Amherst are working together on this initiative, launched on March 23, 2010. The collaborative agreement targets high school seniors in Chelsea who participate in the FUEL College Savings Program.  

According to the terms of the compact, BHCC will provide up to five scholarships per year that will cover the cost of in-state tuition and fees up to 12 credit hours per semester. These awards, named the President’s Chelsea Scholarship, will also provide faculty mentorship to students during the scholarship award period. The College will also collaborate with UMass Amherst to highlight the financial transfer benefits for students interested in pursuing a four-year degree upon graduation from Bunker Hill Community College. 

Accepting the “Bostonians for Youth” award on behalf of the College,  was BHCC Board Chair Jeanne-Marie Boylan.  In her remarks, Boylan stressed the College’s commitment to “access and affordability” in higher education, and its long-standing history of involvement with the Chelsea community.

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About Bunker Hill Community College
Celebrating 50 years of excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).