Boston University has announced that 66 Boston public high school graduates, 13 of whom hail from Dorchester and Mattapan, are recipients of full scholarships by the Thomas A. Menino Scholarship program, which has helped almost 2,000 students since its inception in 1973, and the Boston University Community Service Award, a decade-old financial-aid program with 466 recipients and counting.

Victoria Nguyen, Amy Phan, Elisabeth Quinn, Michael Harkess, Ying Hei Leung, and Avi Nguyen are Dorchester residents who received a merit-based Menino Scholarship, a four-year, full-tuition grant for Boston public school students who had been nominated for the award by their school principals or guidance counselors.

Melissa Alvarado, Celine Doan, Nicole Milos, Jacqueline Bui, Mychalia Sanfilippo, Karvens Felix, and Thang Le are Dorchester and Mattapan residents awarded the BU Community Service Award. Created in 2009, the nomination-based award fully funds calculated financial need for any admitted Boston public high school graduate, ensuring that its awardees will not need to resort to loans in order to pay for their studies. In return, the students must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average and complete 12 credits each semester.

These awards represent a commitment of more than $12 million commitment from the university over the coming four years and recipients of the Community Service Award and of the Menino Scholarship will receive emotional support throughout their transition to college. The former provides its awardees with a mentor to help with college life and to connect them with community service opportunities, while Menino Scholars will get a weeklong orientation to college learning and continued support throughout their time at BU.