Forty-three years ago, Boston College’s undergraduate student government elected its first black leader. Twenty-eight years ago, it elected its second. As the 20th century turned into the 21st, and as racial tensions continued to flair in Newton, the town in which BC resided had failed to follow suit. So it turned to a hometown hero—a local kid, who went from being the first black president of his high school, the second black president of the town’s neighboring college, to the campaign trails, to Iraq, to the White House: Setti Warren, BC ’93.
After growing up in Newton, Warren attended Newton North High School, a short 10-minute drive northwest of BC’s Main Campus. There began Warren’s involvement in public service and leadership, as he was elected class president for all four years of his high school career.
“For me, a high school student, being class president there offered a really unique challenge in that the city was 3 percent African-American,” he said. “I had friends of all different backgrounds, all different walks of life, and I just felt so committed to the students, to find ways to bring people together wherever I was, [to] solve problems together and have fun together.”