Civic Life Lunch – Giving Students a Second Chance at College: A Conversation with Neil Swidey

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Did you know that, according to a recent study, the percentage of Boston Public School (BPS) graduates who finish college is well below the national average? Join a conversation with Tufts alumnus Neil Swidey to understand why that is and how he’s working to change the narrative. Neil founded the Alray Scholars Program, a Boston-based organization that helps BPS students who had to drop out of college return and graduate. Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, Alray Scholars has provided more than $600,000 in scholarship funding and has helped 82 students finish college and earn their degrees. Lunch will be provided.

Neil Swidey founded the Alray Scholars Program with the help of friends and a shared determination to give promising students a second chance at college. He is a professor of the practice and director of the journalism program at Brandeis University and editor-at-large of the Boston Globe Magazine. He is also the bestselling author of Trapped Under the Sea and The Assist and a coauthor of Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy. His writing has been featured in The Best American Science Writing, The Best American Crime Writing, and The Best American Political Writing. He’s a proud alumnus of Tufts University.