WVU in the News: Movers and Shapers, Lisa Costello

BEFORE LONG, PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THEIR 40S, 30S, EVEN THEIR 20S TODAY WILL BE MAKING ALL OF THE BIGGEST DECISIONS MORGANTOWN FACES.

DR. LISA COSTELLO’s decision to play for WVU’s women’s basketball team in 2003–2004 was, pardon the pun, “a slam dunk.” Home-state loyalty colors everything she does, from caring for children in her pediatrics practice to mentoring medical students.

The Weirton native was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college, aided by a West Virginia Promise Scholarship. Her father was a steelworker, her mother a United Way executive director.

“Hard work, determination, perseverance, and helping others really were ingrained in me at a very young age,” she says. “I think that’s also part of the ethos of West Virginians.”

The WVU associate professor of pediatric general medicine also credits hermteachers and sports coaches for believing in her, and in turn, she advises pre-med and medical students. She is a children’s health advocate through both state and national organizations, including the West Virginia State Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics.

But Morgantown is home. “I fell in love with Morgantown, with West Virginia University, and have been grateful to be able to stay here.” —CPT