County Roscommon father-of-four celebrates after completing postgrad

Graduating was a family affair for some of those celebrating with their parchments at the Athlone campus of the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) recently.

A South Roscommon father of four girls balanced his family commitments and job as a quantity surveyor to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering, Engineering Management.

Vinny Costello, from Taughmaconnell celebrated his achievement at the ceremony with wife Anita and their four daughters, Molly, 12; Lilly, 11; Sadie, aged eight, and Elsie, aged six.

Afterwards, Vinny, who works as a quantity surveyor, said: “I didn’t set foot in the campus during the year as I was able to do it all remotely online. That helped me greatly with balancing work and home life. I would be a firm believer that ‘what you put in is what you get out’ of something. It was heavy going , full on, but definitely worth it in the end. The lecturers were very good and I was very happy with the course overall.” 

Also celebrating on the Athlone campus were a husband-and-wife duo who both achieved success in their studies.

Raghunath Kale was rewarded with a Masters of Science in Software Design with Cyber Security, while his wife Vandana celebrated with a Postgraduate Diploma In Science in Quality Management and Validation.

The couple, who used to live in Athlone, but now reside in Newbridge, County Kildare, have two children: Rudraraj aged 13 and Rajvi, aged eight.

“We chose to embark on this journey together, not only to better ourselves but also to set a benchmark for our children. Achieving these milestones side by side has been deeply rewarding,” said Raghunath.

Vandana added: “Our shared commitment and encouragement helped us both excel.”