Father Mike Conway President, DBCR High School The School That Works

Published: Aug. 31, 2017, 4:27 p.m.

Father Mike Conway on \n\n". . .our school can only be as successful as the corporate partnerships that we have in the community. That\u2019s extremely important. So, as many jobs that we have, that\u2019s as many kids as we can take. Unfortunately, we can\u2019t take all our kids. . .For us, that\u2019s the linchpin. That\u2019s what makes us different from any other Catholic high school in this community and around the country."\n\nFather Mike Conway, President, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School (right) and Andy Ockershausen (left) in studio interview\n\nA Ockershausen:\tThis is Andy Ockershausen. This is Our Town. Our guest today is a new citizen of Our Town. He's a transplant from Boston. He had really big shoes to fill last year, to take over the job as president of the Don Bosco Cristo Rey School. We had a chance to watch him in action last month at the 10th Anniversary Gala for the school - "The school that works." And I can tell you he has what it takes for the job. Let me introduce you to Father Mike Conway, president of Don Bosco Cristo Rey School. Father Mike is a Boston native and the oldest of eight kids.\nFather Mike Conway:\tAmen.\nA Ockershausen:\tA great Catholic family.\nFather Mike Conway:\tTrue, and true.\nA Ockershausen:\tYour family's all from Boston, or they come from the old country?\nFather Mike Conway - Third-Generation Irish Bostonian\nFather Mike Conway:\tNo. We're all from Boston. So, we're third-generation Irish immigrants.\nA Ockershausen:\tWow.\nFather Mike Conway:\t1876 in beautiful east Boston. Same neighborhood as the Kennedy's when they came in. How's that?\nA Ockershausen:\tYeah, but they left and brought booze back with them.\nPassion for Sports\nFather Mike Conway:\tWell, we probably shared some of that.\nA Ockershausen:\tYeah, you probably used some of that, Father. You're a Boston guy, and you're all the way. What I always am so impressed with, and this is almost universal, is the amount of passion that the Bostonians or New Englanders have for the Sox, the Celtics, the Pats, and the Bruins. There's a commonality here. These teams are winners.\nFather Mike Conway:\tAbsolutely. And, listen to this, whether we win or lose, we bleed Boston. Now, we won't talk too much about the Celtics, because that was a big game we had the other night that we had-\nA Ockershausen:\tWait a minute, no, no, no. They're green, they're wearing of the green.\nFather Mike Conway:\tThey're wearing of the green, but let me tell you something. If there is a passionate city with sports, it's Boston.\nA Ockershausen:\tOh, it is. It's incredible.\nFather Mike Conway:\tIt's in your blood, and we thrive on hate. See, we love the haters. That's what makes us so successful. You know, when the Patriots won this past, the haters came out, like, "Oh, just come on, keep it coming." We thrive on that. That's what makes us more passionate.\nA Ockershausen:\tIt's all the way, too. That's what gets me about it. Northside, Southside, Eastside, wherever it is.\nFather Mike Conway:\tAll around, man. We're a nation. It's the Boston Nation.\nA Ockershausen:\tIt is, and it works, doesn't it? Now, how does it work for your educational needs? Do you have Don Bosco school in Boston?\nFather Mike Conway:\tWe had two Bosco schools, Salesian schools, in Boston some time ago. One in the Boston city proper, Don Bosco Technical High School, which was there from 1958 until probably about-\nA Ockershausen:\tA real tech school?\nFather Mike Conway:\tA real tech school.\nA Ockershausen:\tTraining kids.\nFather Mike Conway:\tAnd then we had a college prep school where I went to school in East Boston called Saint Dominic Savio. We had two strong presences there. Unfortunately, over the years, as our numbers got smaller, as the price becomes much larger, we had to close both schools. Very difficult. Very difficult.\nA Ockershausen:\tPopulations change, of course, Mike. You got your BA at Don Bosco College in New Jersey?\nFather Mike Conway's Journey to Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School,