By Joseph Myers • Posted March 14, 2024

Dom Colasante believes opportunities for follow-up and growth mean he and his industry peers can never truly say they are done with business transactions. On Feb. 27, the 35-year-old showed that no matter our age, we should likewise feel the same about educational matters, as the 2006 alumnus returned to Roman Catholic High School as a Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) donor, endowing the institution with $525,000.

“I credit my time in Catholic education for so much of who I am,” the CEO of 2X, a business-to-business-focused Marketing as a Service company, said of his upbringing. “It taught me that there’s something bigger than us that we’re here to understand. We’re not just here to take. We’re here to give.”

The South Philadelphia native says that without his days at Roman, he likely never would have entered the business world.  He credits Roman teacher. Pat Shanahan, who instructed Colasante as a junior and senior and instilled  in him and his classmates with an appreciation for their impending financial responsibilities, for his success

“I wanted to wake those guys up to concepts such as credit, insurance, and real estate,” the retiree, who devoted more than three decades to Catholic education in the Archdiocese, said. “I remember Dom being laser-focused and always having good questions for our discussions.”

Shanahan joined Colasante at their beloved alma mater last week, with the latter eager to make his initial contribution to the school. Through BLOCS, which is Pennsylvania’s largest scholarship organization, the businessman reveled in the chance to head to North Broad Street, seeking to tout the lasting effects that immersive instruction can have.

“It was really an obvious decision,” Colasante said of supporting Roman Catholic.  “Catholic schools have a great ability to make people feel totally accepted and safe.”

Having decided in his youth that a career that was part analytical and part creative would serve him best, the entrepreneur, whose faith formation also included time at South Philadelphia’s St. Monica School and graduate studies at Villanova University, helms an entity with nearly 1,000 employees. It has come to attract global renown, further reinforcing for Colasante that assisting others in their desires to hone their God-given talents will always yield rewards.

“I love the challenge of it in that no day is ever really the same as any other,” he said of his professional experience. “Like in a classroom, there’s always something to learn and teach.”

Shanahan, whose teaching methods included inviting guest speakers and using a monthly Wall Street Journal geared toward students, appreciated being able to have a reunion with Colasante, whose mention of Sean Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens,” another classroom helper, during the check presentation brought back memories.

“I’m so happy for Dom in his professional life and so impressed that he executed such a giveback for Roman,” Shanahan, another South Philly product, said. “In my lessons, I always wanted the boys to see the benefits of learning about money, acquiring a head start on adulthood, giving themselves a chance at financial success, and being able to say their journey started at Roman.”

With the endowment, Colasante is hoping that current and future students, no matter their interests, will find a prosperous path thanks to their school and the Catholic mission that guides it

“It’s such a great source of support,” Colasante said of BLOCS, noting its use of the Earned Income Tax Credit. “I’m happy to further its reach.”