Have the COURAGE to Fail & the FAITH to Succeed

RPI football was a special time in Brendan’s life where he took many lessons from the coaching staff and players in forming his passion for leadership on and off the field. Athletics plays a key role in developing lifelong attributes such as courage, teamwork, resilience, faith, service, family and grit. And giving back to Rensselaer, the football program and the student-athletes is simply a gesture of gratitude. The $1 million gift will establish the Brendan P. Keegan ’91 Football Locker Room and will support program’s greatest needs including coaching staff, recruiting efforts, equipment, travel, and locker room media technology.

Bishop Guertin High School athletics set the foundation for much of who Brendan has become in his personal and professional life. Supporting BG has always been a part of the Keegan Family’s philanthropy. As a family, Brendan, Dana, Kaylie & Patrick, are donating $1.5 million to support BG student-athletes for generations to come by building a new state-of-the-art athletic facility off-campus and the facility will be named the Keegan Family Athletic Complex.

The Keegan Leadership Center, KLC for short, is a gathering place for everyone in the BG community. As a student at BG, Brendan was involved in student government and served as Class President each of his 4 years. His passion for leadership lives on and the Keegan Family is elated to support BG leaders for generations to come through the gift of the KLC. The auditorium space is used for meetings, music performances, presentations, guest speakers and school conferences.

Saint Christopher Academy has impacted the entire Keegan Family. Brendan and his brothers Paul & Jay attended St. Chris, his mother Barbara served as a volunteer art teacher and his father Jack served as Chairman of NH Catholic Schools. Additionally, Kaylie and Patrick attended St. Chris and Dana served in multiple volunteer capacities. The Keegan Family Teachers Endowment Fund was established to fund the wage gap to attract and retain the best teachers for generations of children to come.

Barbara Keegan, Brendan’s mom, was a volunteer art teacher for many years at Saint Christopher School and passed away in 2016. Brendan, Dana, Kaylie and Patrick established the Barbara Keegan Art Center to honor her years of service and for instilling a sense of creativity and artistic impression for students of the school.

Saint Christopher Academy was vaulted into the 21st century technically when Brendan and Dana Keegan returned to Nashua and sent Kaylie and Patrick to St. Chris. With a dated technology platform, Brendan and Dana installed a schoolwide wireless network infrastructure, along with computers in each classroom, technology white-boards, overhead projectors and interactive software suite.

The nurses of Saint Joseph Hospital hold a special place in Brendan’s heart as upon a rough start as a pre-mature baby being brought into this world, the nurses remained by his side for days, weeks and months at the hospital. The Keegan Family is very thankful and would like to acknowledge the nurses across the hospital with a gift of the Keegan Family Auditorium at the School of Nursing.

The Nashua Police Athletic League served as a home for Brendan and Patrick for nearly a decade as football coach and player. Brendan and Dana created and launched the PAL Victory Academy serving inner-city youth for many years, hosted a charity bowl-a-thon and created the Keegan Leadership Center.

The Nashua Soup Kitchen serves the community far beyond meals and for many families across Nashua. For many young parents that are challenged to provide their children with a special birthday gift, the Keegan Family Birthday Surprise Room was established to provide gifts for every birthday.

The Camp Hill School creates a life-world where students thrive, learn, explore and are creative. In honor of Nina Shields, a past student, the Keegan Family created Nina’s Garden in recognition of the incredible support and love demonstrated by the entire Shields Family – Will, Betsy, Eloise, Tessa & Esme.

The purpose of the Dana Keegan ’95 ’08 & Martha Child Lecture Series at Marymount University is to annually celebrate young, up and coming, leading interior designers. The annual lecture series event will seek to engage current students, faculty, alumni and the greater Washington, D.C. interior design community in an evening full of sharing, learning, ideating and celebrating the creativity of the interior design profession.

The purpose of the Dana Keegan ’95 ’08 Scholarship Fund at Marymount University is to annually provide economic and financial assistance to two promising interior design students.