By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University women's swimming student-athlete Mika Costello ('20) has been named a finalist in the NCAA Division III LGBTQ One Team Awards program. Costello is one of just eight finalists for the NCAA Division III LGBTQ Student-Athlete of the Year Award.

The Student-Athlete of the Year Award honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, and service/leadership of LGBTQ student-athletes. Winners of the One Team Awards will be notified in November and honored at the virtual NCAA Convention in January of 2021.

"I am honored to be nominated for the LGBTQ Student-Athlete Award," Costello said. "When I started college four years ago, I didn't think something like this would be possible for LGBTQ+ student-athletes. I was nervous about coming out since I grew up in a small town where it was frowned upon to be queer. But once my teammates gave me the confidence to be myself, I knew that I had to do the same for others."

Costello has been very active on the Willamette Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, as well as the Northwest Conference SAAC and the NCAA Division III National SAAC. Her efforts have resulted in important steps forward at every level regarding inclusion.

"It has been my honor to work with, and learn from, Mika these past four years," Associate AD/SWA Leslie Shevlin said. "I respect and appreciate the amount of courage it takes to share your voice with others. She did a great job of it on campus and on the national level. I think that both Willamette University and the NCAA have benefitted from having MIka as a student-athlete and a SAAC member."

Costello served on the National SAAC as a junior and a senior and is beginning her third and final year as a member of the group. During her time on NSAAC, she has served as the Communications Director. She led the "Break the Stigma" Mental Health Social Media Campaign.

"While on National SAAC, I made sure to amplify the voices for student-athletes who were a part of the LGBTQ+ community," Costello noted. "I pushed for all of our writings to include gender-neutral language. I was chair of the Inclusion Subcommittee. I served on the DIII LGBTQ Working Group and ensured that queer voices were being heard and protected during our conversations.

"To me, this award means that there will be more conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion, showing the rest of the membership that our recognition is vital to the wellbeing of our community," Costello continued. "We are more than just queer; we are student-athletes."

"I'm very excited for Mika that she has been selected as a finalist for the One Team Award," Willamette swimming Head Coach Brent Summers said. "It has been a privilege to be able to watch Mika these past four years and see all the hard work she has done as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, the National, NWC, & Willamette SAACs, and our program. She has helped me become a better person and our program better because of these efforts. I look forward to continuing to watch her grow as she moves forward in her career."

As a swimmer at Willamette, Costello was a team leader who competed in the sprints. She set personal-best times in the 50-yard freestyle at 29:06, the 100-yard freestyle at 1:04.42, and the 200-yard freestyle at 2:22.25. She helped the women's swimming team receive CSCAA Scholar All-America status during all eight semesters. She was a member of the Willamette SAAC all four years. Costello recently graduated with a major in Politics.