Full Circle: Reflecting on the CM Difference

“I had a couple of very strong role models,” chuckles Kevin, recalling his brief stints off his beloved sports teams. Football, he quit; baseball, he was suspended for a short time. He was always encouraged to come back, however. His coaches never gave up on him. 

“Sometimes, a young man needs both a soft hand and a hard hand to guide him.” 

The son of Irish immigrants, Kevin was simply following orders when the Costello family chose Catholic Memorial for their son’s education. As a young man, the teenaged Costello was intelligent and excelled on the playing field — when he wasn’t working to pay his tuition. 

Though he had a clear sense of duty and responsibility from the beginning, Kevin credits his coaches and teachers with allowing him to grow in unique ways, and in turn helping him mature as a young man of character. “I like to think that CM had a lot to do with my future — leading me and directing me when I was growing.”

That future began to form at Stonehill College upon Costello’s graduation in 1963, and continued into a diverse career of stockbroking, sales, and finally, financial investment. Kevin is now a partner at Boston Capital, a real estate investment firm where he has worked for 37 years. A highlight of his career has been working alongside his CM quarterback, Richard Ring ’64, serving on the board of Ring’s nonprofit FamilyAid Boston. 

“In my wildest imagination, I never would have dreamed that I would have achieved the success I did, growing up with three brothers in the same bedroom in a triple decker.” 

Kevin now returns to Baker Street as a proud fan at the annual Thanksgiving Day football game, visits with his classmates at school reunions, and supports the school at annual galas. During this time, the CM community never stopped being part of his life. In 2017, Kevin joined the CM Board, a position he holds to this day.

The character of CM boys today does not go unnoticed by Kevin. “CM strives to educate a broad section of the young men in Boston,” he notes. “They haven’t lost their charter. They could have chosen other charters, but they chose to take the road less traveled.” 

Catholic Memorial’s choice — the choice to educate, the choice to serve, the choice to leave no boy behind — is a personal favorite of his. Kevin could have easily slipped through the cracks. But a CM education is a gift, one that demands boys take responsibility for their choices, and through which self-determination is born. 

Kevin notes the school’s hosting of veteran funerals and its recent recognition by the American Cancer Society as a National Leader as points of pride. 

“The school is demanding of its students to provide social services, and puts young men out into society as well-balanced, Christian citizens. I believe in this cause, and in the opportunity to help young men like me. I think that if any CM alumnus looks back, they’ll realize the lasting positive effect the school had on them, which is why I believe every alumnus should give within their means.” Kevin is now an executive vice president, but at heart he’s still a Knight, playing for his quarterback, leaning on his coaches, laughing with his friends. 

“I’m no different than these kids. I want to be able to say, ‘I remember.’”