William L Costello
Bill Costello, a 1971 Northwest alumnus, established The William L. Costello Scholarship to annually assist an incoming Northwest freshman from East Mills High School in Malvern, Iowa.
Costello's grandmother taught at Malvern High School in 1903 and encouraged his studies. Costello said 10 of his grandmother's 12 grandchildren earned college degrees, a family tradition carried on today by his nieces and nephews. Costello's father, Charles, insisted that his children receive a college education.
It was Northwest's reputation and affordability that ultimately led Costello to Maryville in 1965 after graduating from Malvern High School. He put himself through college by working for a pipeline company each summer so that his father could put Costello's two sisters through college.
After serving a year with the Kansas Army National Guard during the Vietnam War, Costello completed his degree. He worked as a state revenue agent before returning home to join his father at Costello Insurance Agency in 1977. Three generations and nearly 100 years after Costello's grandfather opened the company in Malvern in 1912, he sold the family business and retired after serving his community for 32 years.
Scholarships associated with William L Costello