row2k Features
Interview
Philadelphia's Mary Costello
February 19, 2013
Erik Dresser, row2k.com

Costello on deployment in Afghanistan

This week's row2k Interview is with junior rower Mary Costello. Costello found the sport after serving a four-year enlistment in the Air Force as a Medical Technician and now uses her training to help propel the Philadelphia University women's rowing team.

row2k - How did you get your start in rowing and why did you decide to row at Philadelphia?
Mary Costello - I remember watching the 2008 Olympics and thinking that rowing was a really intense sport that I might want to try someday. I left the military in June 2010 and came to Philadelphia University in August 2010 to become a Physician Assistant. I received an email during orientation week that was about joining PhilaU’s team. I was looking to do some kind of sport at PhilaU to stay active and busy, and I thought trying something new would be my best bet. So I walked on to the team that September 2010, and felt like I finally found the sport I should have been involved in all my life.

row2k - You have a fairly diverse athletic background, what other sports have you been involved in?
Mary Costello - I grew up playing basketball, softball and running cross country/track and field. I also competed in horseback riding from when I was a little kid and all throughout high school. Now I enjoy running and biking if I’m not rowing. I have ran 9 marathons, and one 50 mile race.

row2k - Prior to enrolling in college, you spent some time in the military, what was your role with the Air Force?
Mary Costello - I had a 4-year enlistment as a Medical technician. I was stationed 3 of those years at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. There I worked as a medic in the Pediatrics clinic and worked on a team of a Pediatrician and a Registered Nurse, trying to keep the little ones healthy. I also did a 9-month tour to Qalat City, Afghanistan (near Kandahar). My role there was to provide medical support to fellow soldiers, as well as various projects such as trying to provide the Afghan people with medical care, clean water, etc.

row2k - What were your motivations joining the military?
Mary Costello - I decided my junior year of high school to join the military. I wasn’t completely sure of what I wanted my profession to be, and I didn’t want to waste money, so I thought this would be the best route. I first was going to join the Marines, but unfortunately they do not have a medical program, so I chose the Air Force instead. I come from a very patriotic family, we bleed red, white and blue and some of my biggest role models are Veterans as well. My grandfather was a marine, and my Aunt Kathy was in the Army, and they are both extremely hard working individuals, so I guess I wanted to learn that discipline. I think my biggest motivator was to make my mother, my dad (who passed when I was 14) and my two older brothers proud to call me their daughter/sister.

row2k - What was the transition back to civilian life like and how did your previous training help in picking up rowing?
Mary Costello - Transition back to civilian life was really difficult. When you come from every hour of your day being planned, till absolutely nothing being planned it is a big shock. I think that’s why rowing fit so well with me, because it is such a structured sport. It gave me a routine to follow, which was exactly what I needed. My previous training definitely helped me out while learning the sport. There’s no quitting in the military, and to keep up you have to learn to be mentally tough as well as physically tough. I believe that being tough has propelled me to never settle for second best, and for always striving to learn and make myself better than the day before.

row2k - What are your strengths as both a student and an athlete?
Mary Costello - I think some of my strengths are leadership, positive attitude, discipline, and not sweating the small stuff. Whether it’s motivating the team for a race or workout, I try to always stay positive, because negativity is like a disease. You need a lot of discipline to wake up for practice at 5 am, not go out with your friends because you have practice in the morning, and to study or write a paper when all you want to do is go to sleep. My deployment taught me to never take a day for granted, and I try to live in the moment, and live everyday to the fullest.

row2k - What has been your most memorable race so far and why?
Mary Costello - My most memorable race was at the 2012 Dad Vails where we raced the Varsity 4+ to a bronze medal. It was a close race and we were sitting in 4th till about 600 meters to go. Just when we thought we couldn’t push any harder, we did and we moved into 3rd. We then fought like hell for 2nd and lost by a bow ball, it was the most intense race I had been in. There was so much at stake, and it was the first Varsity medal to be won at Dad Vails by the PhilaU women’s team. But the icing of the cake was to see my coaches and my mom at the medals dock and see how proud they were of us.

row2k - What are you studying at Philadelphia and do you have any plans yet for after college?
Mary Costello - I am studying to become a Physician Assistant, and have 2 more years till I have my Master’s degree. I plan on working in either OBGyn or Pediatrics and in an inner city area where they need the help the most. As for rowing, I am hooked, and I plan on doing this for the rest of my life.

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