By Jay Sorgi • Posted June 17, 2025

Some people discover that the greatest gift they can receive is the opportunity to give – to reflect God’s generous love in all that they do.

John Connolly, a 1970 graduate of Bishop Neumann Catholic High School, is doing just that by launching a new initiative that will impact thousands of students who pass through the halls at Saints John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic High School: The John M. Connolly Center for Business and Entrepreneurship.

“It’s a blessing, because the greatest gift one could be given is to impact others. I have been impacted by others and now it’s my turn to impact others,” said Connolly, who traveled from New England and attended a ribbon-cutting celebration with other donors and special guests on Wednesday, June 11.

“It was an opportunity to come back to my roots here in South Philadelphia, and to give back to a school that had a profound effect on my life.”

His donation not only creates a large, high-tech classroom designed to resemble a Fortune 500 board room, but also includes scholarships for Neumann Goretti students.

Connolly serves as founder and managing director of Eaglehead Capital, headquartered in Boston, and is also a senior advisor to the Goldman Sachs Growth Group.

>>>PHOTO GALLERY: Dedication of the John M. Connolly Center at Neumann Goretti HS

After a career focused on entrepreneurship and investing in successful companies, he spent 20 years discerning how to give forward to young people by honoring a school that empowered his life journey.

“The dream was always there,” said Connolly, who grew up going to St. Monica Parish. We finally were able to come together because of Tim Cairy (Neumann Goretti’s president) and we discussed how we could make that a reality.”

Connolly joked with his fellow donors that the idea came during what he told his wife, Kathy Robinson-Connolly, was “one of the most expensive lunches I’ve ever had.”

It came with Cairy, who traveled to the Boston area in 2023.

“I said, ‘John, I’m not here to ask you for a million. You’ll decide what you want to give to the school or why you want to give to the school, if that’s what your choice is.’”

These were just two guys who grew up in the same neighborhood.

“He looked at me and he said, ‘I’m going to be contacting you in the future,’” said Cairy. “I think it was two days later when John (Connolly) called me and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got some ideas.’”

Those ideas stemmed from how his career as an entrepreneur aligned with a skill set Neumann Goretti students prioritize – learning business skills

“One of the things that we talked about, after the idea came about a business center, was an entrepreneurship center,” said Cairy.

But Connolly also focused on making sure what he gave to Neumann Goretti would become not only an asset to students, but to the city.

“John said, ‘I don’t want this just to be about the school. I want this to be about the community.’”

With those goals set, the school started construction.

“The Neumann Goretti staff and John made their vision quite clear, so it was a fun and easy task initially to design the space, make the space as visible as possible to attract viewership from patrons coming in to watch basketball games, for students to get excited about what they’re seeing in the space,” said Bart Badja, project manager at Toner Architects.

“Our goal was to use that space, stretch that space, and stretch the dollar as much as we possibly could to make it look like the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies,” said Jim Porecca, president of VCG Construction.

“You have decorative ceilings, you have stock tickers, touchscreens all over the place. I would actually put that up against some of the better boardrooms that I’ve been in and built in Center City.”

The classroom space, furnished by Terri Spiato of Emerald Business Supply, is designed to feel like a corporate office.

“The purpose of the classrooms is to make the students feel as if they’re executives in an office When they go into their jobs, place of employment, they’ll know that this is what it should feel like,” said Spiato.

Walking into the John M. Connolly Center for Business and Entrepreneurship allows students to picture their future in business, inspiring confidence that they belong in these spaces and can follow in Connolly’s footsteps toward achieving their dreams—and giving forward.

“It’s about the experiences that are going to be taking place in that space,” said Cairy.

Standing before the gathered donors, Connolly reflected on his journey.

“I stand in front of you with enormous gratitude and appreciation,”  he said

“I dreamed of this moment 20 years ago. To see it become a reality is something that I will treasure forever.”