Brendan F. Boyle was born and raised in the Olney neighborhood of Pennsylvania’s 2nd Congressional District. As the son of a janitor and school crossing guard, Congressman Boyle was the first in his family to attend college. He went to the University of Notre Dame on an academic scholarship, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Government and completed the Hesburgh Program in Public Service. Congressman Boyle later attended graduate school at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He graduated from Harvard in 2005, earning a master's degree in Public Policy.