Jenny Costello plays on the Lady Miner volleyball team and is a chemical engineering major. Photo by B.A. Rupert
To say Jenny Costello has gotten a well-rounded education at Missouri S&T is an understatement. Costello, a chemical engineering senior from St. Louis, has been able to take what she’s learned in the classroom and transfer it to the volleyball court and to her recent trip overseas.
“I wanted to come to S&T even before there was a volleyball program. I started looking at S&T my junior year in high school,” Costello says. “I was excited to go to school here because of the curriculum and the reputation it has in industry. Every time I go on an interview people know who S&T is and that’s helpful.
“Having a strong academic school and learning about leadership and problem solving in the classroom transfers to the court, and vice versa. Things I’ve learned on the court, I’ve even transferred those into project groups that I’m doing.”
Jenny Costello (left) and Amy Miller, a student from the University of Miami in Ohio, pose by a statue in China. Photo submitted
In June 2011, she traveled to China and Hong Kong for two and a half weeks as part of a program called Energy Research with a Global Reach, which was hosted by Washington University in St. Louis.
Costello was one of 23 students in the program who learned not only about the research but also more about China and Hong Kong.
Though the group did not do any actual research, they did listen to a lot of presentations on solar energy and how to implement that in a large urban atmosphere. The group also learned about different alternatives such as wind energy, fuel cells and bio mass.
“Taking that trip was probably one of the most exciting things I’ve ever gotten to do,” Costello says. “I’d never been outside the country before and it was an eye-opening experience. I got to see and learn a lot of different things from professors doing cutting-edge research from across the world.
“Hong Kong is a gorgeous city with large buildings everywhere; it’s like being in New York City. It’s very clean and everyone is very welcoming. I was expecting to be ostracized for being an American, but everyone wanted to practice English on me.”
Jenny Costello sets up for teammate Krista Haslag. Photo by B.A. Rupert
When she returned in the fall to the volleyball court she helped take the Lady Miners to their best season in just the fifth year of the program. They went 24-10 last year, winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s West Division and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional for the first time in school history.
“It was definitely a memorable season,” Costello says.
For her efforts, Costello was named to the All-GLVC first team at the setter position, recording career-highs in set assists (1,438), digs (290), points (159.5) and kills (107).
She finished second in the GLVC in set assists and was 20th in all of Division II in quarterbacking the S&T offense.
As if those accolades weren’t enough, she received more honors for her work in the classroom as well. Currently carrying a 4.0 grade point average, Costello was the first Lady Miner volleyball player to be named to the Capital One Academic All-America honors. She was selected to the first team in a vote by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Heading into her final year Costello wants to build on last season’s successes and keep the volleyball program going in the upwards direction.
“I’m excited for this season,” she says. “We’ve got higher goals, one of which is go to Florida for nationals.”
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