Capitol Technology University is thrilled to announce our 2023 Commencement guest speaker: Tom Costello of NBC News. We are honored that he will be speaking at our ceremony on Saturday, April 29th and look forward to sharing this day of celebration with our graduating Class of 2023! Please see below to read more about our guest speaker.
View Tom Costello's Commencement speech here.
View Tom Costello receiving his Honorary Doctorate regalia here.
Tom Costello is an Emmy award-winning NBC News correspondent based in Washington, DC. He reports daily across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, including TODAY, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, and NBC NewsNow.
Mr. Costello joined NBC NEWS in 2004 after spending six years at CNBC Business News in London and New York. In 2005 he moved to NBC's Washington bureau and has since served as the network's lead aviation and space correspondent, while also covering a range of other beats including cybersecurity and economics.
Among his major assignments: America’s new space race and privatization of space exploration; the Covid pandemic and government response; two fatal Boeing 737-MAX crashes; the shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner over Tehran; the search for Malaysian Airlines flight 370; the Miracle on the Hudson in New York; NATO and economic summits; the European move to a single currency; and the death of Princess Diana.
In January 2021, Mr. Costello covered the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the arrests that followed. He reported on the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Virginia Tech massacre, international terrorism investigations, and the Covid pandemic.
Mr. Costello holds a bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master’s degree in Administration/International Commerce from Boston University’s Graduate Center in Brussels, Belgium.
In 2018, he earned a certificate in Cybersecurity Risk Management from HarvardX.
Originally from Colorado, Mr. Costello started his career at KVIA-TV in El Paso, TX and KUSA-TV in Denver. After earning a master’s degree, he served as CNBC’s anchor in London from 1996-1999. From 1999-2002, he was CNBC's Nasdaq correspondent in New York and was on duty when terrorists attacked on 9/11. As CNBC's Senior Correspondent from 2002-2004, he anchored and produced documentaries from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
He has been recognized with six Emmy awards, Edward R Murrow and National Headliner honors, awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the DuPont-Columbia University Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Associated Press, Gannett, the Radio Television Digital News Association, the University of Colorado and Boston University.
Mr. Costello is the only journalist ever presented with the National Air Traffic Controller Association's Sentinel of Safety Award for his coverage and investigations involving commercial aviation.
He is married to Astrid Boon of Brussels, Belgium, and has two daughters.
Mr. Costello upholds the shared values of our university for higher education and the cultivation of an informed public. With his continued coverage of the important issues impacting the emerging industries which our graduates are now entering, he contributes greatly to the illumination of our future leaders and the impact they will make.
“Capitol Tech is excited to have Mr. Costello on campus,” stated Dr. Bradford Sims, President. “His experience at NBC News and coverage of aviation, transportation, space, and cybersecurity are a perfect fit with our STEM-aligned degrees. He will also be presented with an honorary doctorate at the graduation ceremony.”
Viewers can watch our 2023 Commencement ceremony where Tom Costello will be guest speaking during our live-stream event on Saturday, April 29th starting at 9:00 a.m. EST.
