Administrative Professionals Day: Meet Dillon Colagrosso

Serving as an administrative professional requires impeccable organizational skills, excellent time management, a positive outlook against seemingly insurmountable challenges and, at the heart of it all, a desire to serve those who serve others. Colorado native Dillon Colagrosso, the East Metro Division’s business support, embodies all of those traits.

Born in Denver, Colagrosso spent most of his childhood in different parts of state. Once he graduated from high school, he wanted to spread his wings and experience different parts of the country.

“I spent the majority of my life pursuing a career in musical theater,” Colagrosso said. “So, I moved to Chicago in 2012 after high school and enrolled in the Chicago College of Performing Arts, a conservatory within Roosevelt University.”

Colagrosso moved back to Colorado in 2013, when he enrolled at the University of Colorado-Boulder to continue his education. He graduated in 2017 with a bachelor of fine arts in theater performance with a minor in dance.

After graduating from college, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in the performing arts. He participated in several productions before returning to Colorado in 2018.

“I felt a calling to come back to Colorado and give more of my time and money to others instead of spending it all on myself,” Colagrosso said.

Colagrosso credits his faith for directing him back to the Centennial State.

“My faith in Jesus is the biggest part of my life,” he said.

Pulling double duty while in college, he also earned a bachelor of arts in communications. Colagrosso spent the next few years usingthat degree to serve in a number of content-focused production roles at several Denver-area churches before joining RTD on April 17, 2023, as a business support for the East Metro Division. Despite not having been in an administrative support role before, Colagrosso welcomed the challenge of learning a new career path.

“I’m very happy that I am able to serve operators in a very direct way,” he said.

No two days are the same for Colagrosso. Serving as a business support for RTD’s largest bus operating division, he ensures operators have everything they need to get on the road and serve the agency’s customers.

“There are so many instances where I am supplying operators with forms and giving them information that they really need for their job,” Colagrosso said.

Colagrosso is responsible for handing out daily operations packets, handling grievances, and ensuring all operators have an active commercial driver license and are compliant with United States Department of Transportation regulations. Additionally, Colagrosso coordinates with Human Resources to ensure all job postings are updated and assists with division-specific events, such as the recent Colorado Rockies home opener celebration.

“I was a big part of gathering the supplies, food and drinks,” Colagrosso said. “I also cooked for and served the operators, which is a major honor and is something that means a lot to me.”

Colagrosso’s passion for serving others oozes through every ounce of his work and is what keeps him going day in and day out, an attribute that is a product of his strong Christian faith.

His passion for serving others plays directly into his love for sustainability and environmentalism, always finding a way to educate others on how they can better care for the planet.

“I know a lot of operators who want printed employee surveys, and I do what I can to encourage them to take it online,” Colagrosso said. “I teach them how to use QR codes and encourage them to use their phones and tablets to take the survey to reduce our paper usage.”

On top of encouraging employees to reduce their consumption of paper, Colagrosso recently gave employees the opportunity to try a new food they might enjoy. “We provided plant-based hot dogs in addition to traditional meat hot dogs during the Rockies event,” he said.

Another initiative Colagrosso has enjoyed is the ongoing donation drive.

“I have about three boxes of donated items sitting in my office alone,” he said. “For me to be a part of these initiatives to go into the community and help them on behalf of RTD, that is very special to me.”

Colagrosso finds an immense sense of value in his work as a business support for East Metro.

“It is very important for me to be in a place of support,” he said.