Although town members and outsiders alike associate Manhasset with lacrosse, Kevin Overlander helped foster a love for football amongst his classmates and for future team members. Incredibly humble about his accomplishments, Kevin has attributed his many successes to Manhasset High School’s athletic department and academic instruction in general. He said that he was humbled being given the privilege to wear the number 32 on his back for lacrosse. His role as the captain of the football team, however, was especially memorable in that football became a source of bonding for the class of 2013. An unprecedented amount of twenty or more seniors were part of the football team when Kevin was captain. Kevin’s football prowess didn’t stand in the way of his academic endeavors; he pursued AP courses, which prepared him for college-style learning.

Kevin is an Economics major at Amherst and already secured himself a spot on the Credit Sales team at Barclays in New York City by interning as a Summer Analyst this past summer. Despite his heavy workload in football and academics, Kevin found the time to be a part of the Amherst LEADS program and he also heads the Finance Club that he helped put together for younger students. As an athlete, his football team has won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) for the past three years. He told us that he cherishes his team because they achieve communal growth in sports and academics, both as teammates and as friends. Another interesting experience that Kevin shared with us is that he was given the opportunity to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark during the spring of his junior year. He suggests that every student at least considers participating in such a program because he was instilled with a sense of community and friendship in Denmark that he claims is unforgettable.

Kevin said that Amherst is very similar to Manhasset in that it gives off the “small town vibe” and the class sizes are as small if not smaller than that in Manhasset. In that sense, he said that the transition wasn’t too difficult and the small school environment promoted close connections with other students and professors. To build off his new connections with Amherst students, Kevin also said that Manhasset was special to him because the friendships made here did not fade for him. In addition, he still visits Coach Simpkins and Coach Ackermann to talk about the preseason. To bring full circle his accomplishments thus far, Kevin said, “I didn’t realize it at the time, but Manhasset’s tradition in sports, especially lacrosse, is something special that is not easy to replicate.”