Even as a little boy in Hoboken, New Jersey, Michael Costello was full of energy and life. He could run circles around everybody else, and had a seemingly endless number of friends. His mother, Nancy Costello, used to call him the “social director” — as soon as one friend would leave from playing with Mike, another would show up to take his place.

When he went to the University of Scranton, he was just as social and outgoing. On his first day, he went to a party in someone’s basement, where a hard hat came flying through the air and smacked Mike in the nose. He had to get stitches across the bridge of his nose, giving him the nickname “Stitch”. He couldn’t change a tire or hook up a VCR, but he was a great cook and golfer, and generous to his friends. He loved fishing, which amazed his mother. She couldn’t believe that her hyperactive son could sit still long enough to actually catch anything. Throughout college, he continued to enjoy his social life, acquiring new friends and living life to the fullest. He was constantly full of energy and was always the life of the party. His friends could always remember his antics, such as breaking a coffee table impersonating Tom Cruise in Risky Business. When Mike talked to you, you felt like the most important person in the room. He lived with a group of friends on the beach in Avalon, NJ where he drove a red Jeep called “the Stitch Jeep” and worked for Dominos delivering pizzas. Mike had a devilish smile, loved snowboarding, and was always confident and competitive. He was a hero to some, because of all of his friends, he was able to achieve what he always said he would. He could do just about anything he set his mind to… as long as he had a pack of Marlboro Mediums close by.

He met the love of his life, Amy Walsh, on the beach in Avalon, and was going to marry her. He accomplished what he wanted to in his career as well, becoming an institutional sales trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. He started, as one friend called him, “the kid on the floor of the Exchange with big dreams”, and eventually made it to the top of the World Trade Center.

On September 11, 2001, when Mike was missing, he practically had an army of friends and family doing everything they could to find him. They spent every night at his apartment, some not showering for days, because they were working so hard trying to find him alive and safe. He was set to marry his amazing girlfriend, and his career was going well. He was happy and loved. But fate intervened, and a man who loved life was gone from the world. He was 27 years old and gone far too soon. He never got to laugh with his friends again or hug his parents. He never got to marry the woman of his dreams. He was 27, and larger than life.