JILL COSTELLO J
ill Costello was the smallest person in the boat for the University of California women’s rowing team, but she played the big- gest part. Her job as coxswain was to encourage, steer, guide . . . to inspire her teams to victory. She did her job on the water with great success and skill, but it was her life away from the boathouse that proved truly inspiring.
In 2010, Jill led the Cal rowing team to a Pac-10 Championship— and then to a second-place fi nish at the NCAA Championships— about a year after being diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Less than a month after her team’s triumph, Jill passed away. In honor of her courageous, inspiring, and simply amazing comeback, Jill was named as one of the winners of the 2012 NCAA Inspiration Award (see box).
Jill was one of the coxswains on the rowing team when she was diagnosed in 2009. The shocking news stunned her, her family, and friends. But they all knew that if anyone had the heart and soul to beat cancer, it was their bubbly, energetic Jill. Through 14 rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments, Jill continued to battle, having the simple goal of getting back with her team. Those who knew her were not surprised when she returned to cox the Conference-title winning boat in 2010. She also began raising money and awareness for lung cancer—a disease mostly associated with smoking, though many lung-cancer patients never smoked. “Jill taught us a simple lesson,” remembered her mother, Mary Costello. “You have your best life by making each day your best day, by living it fully and completely, and fi nding joy in each 24 hours.” Jill found joy on every day of her 22 years. She shared that joy with friends, family, teammates, and more. The story of her comeback and her tragic death spread around the sports world, letting millions of people understand the simple beauty of her message. Live today: You never know about tomorrow.
NCAA INSPIRATION AWARD
“. . . is presented to a current coach or administrator or to a cur- rent or former varsity student-athlete who, when confronted with a life-altering situation, used perseverance, dedication, and deter- mination to overcome the event and now serves as a role model to give hope and inspiration to others.” Jill’s family will receive this trophy in her memory at the 2012 NCAA Convention in Indianapolis. Also winning the award will be Louis Zamperini, a former USC track star and World War II veteran (and subject of the bestselling book, Unbroken).
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