Senior Tage Oster reflects on his four years at Northport High School and discusses his plans for the future.

The following are direct quotes from Northport High School Senior Tage Oster in response to the questions he was asked during the interview.

Jake: What were some of your favorite clubs and sports at Northport?

Tage: I liked all the Business Department clubs like DECA, and AOF was a big one as well. I also really enjoyed basketball, along with soccer, but soccer was my main sport; I liked it a lot. I played basketball for a couple years but I ended up quitting to focus on soccer. I would say a lot of my time was taken up by those two sports originally and then once I got more involved with soccer and AOF, I kinda just tailored to those more and spread myself out a little less.

Jake: I heard you were captain of Northport’s Varsity Soccer team. How has that role shaped you to become the person you are today?

Tage: I’d say just working with a bunch of guys taught me leadership and communication. I’d say those are the main two, cause especially on the field there’s a lot of motions you’ve got to deal with, with other players and your own. You’ve got to just figure out a way to all achieve a common goal, and that’s where leadership really matured for me.

Jake: What were some of the events and fundraisers that you helped organize in the Business Department?

Tage: The biggest one was the volleyball tournament. I was stressing about that for a long time cause it was a big thing. But we raised about $4,000 for suicide prevention, it was a fantastic night, and it turned out great! We got a bunch of sponsors and t-shirts made. That was definitely the biggest one. And then I did a couple smaller things here and there, like info sessions. We did Cow Harbor in the fall as well. Obviously, I would’ve hoped to do more, like I planned on doing Spikeball, but COVID happened.

Jake: How have you been maintaining your interests in these activities during quarantine?

Tage: I’m playing soccer as much as I can; my backyard space is limited, so I’m making do with what I can. But with AOF and stuff, my coordinator reached out to me to try to do a fundraiser for some families in need in Northport. We were able to raise around $4,000 to $5,000, just within a week. That was great. That’s kinda how I’ve stayed intact with the Business Department. That was the main thing I’ve done with them during quarantine. Besides that, I’ve been trying to stay in shape, just trying to play soccer when I can and getting outside.

Ali: What college are you attending and what made this school stand out compared to others?

Tage: I am going to Syracuse University. What made this school stand out, for one, my sister goes there, so it’s kind of like a family thing. But it has a fantastic business school, great academics, and also their sports are great. It’s a huge D1 school, and they have the Carrier Dome; it’s fantastic to see games there. There’s a huge amount of school spirit in Syracuse, and that’s what I like. The whole “bleed orange” thing was it for me; that sold me.

Ali: What type of community service are you planning on getting involved with at Syracuse?

Tage: For me, I want to in the whole business world concentrate towards non-profit. For the business school that I’m attending you have to do an internship, so I’m hoping to have that be involved with some sort of community service work group or just a non-profit organization so I can sort of get the best of both worlds with my studies in business and also with getting involved in the community.

Ali: What do you see yourself doing in the future with business and management?

Tage: Hopefully, I would like to eventually get my own non-profit going. The business world has so many different ways you can go with it. I just know that management is where I want to be and I’d like to be able to have a sense of purpose with my life. Just to have it be for something good to help other people. So non-profit, will it happen? I have no idea, but that’s my end goal; that’s where I want to go.

Ali: What advice would you give to your freshman self?

Tage: Definitely I’d want to try any of the things I was interested in, and not just listen to what other people were doing or what they thought was the right thing. Northport has so many avenues you can go down, and I just wish I took a few more chances here and there, instead of just going with the popular class. That’s what I’d tell myself. I still managed towards the end of it to just do whatever I want, but in the beginning I definitely wished I tried other things.