Oliveri a Standout Student Athlete at WPI

Michael Oliveri graduated in 2006 from where he was a three sport athlete for the Scarlet Hawks playing baseball, basketball and football. Oliveri was a tremendous athlete during his four years at Milford High, and it showed, as he captained all three varsity teams his senior year and helped bring a Super Bowl victory to the Hawks. Oliveri also took part in the school’s National Honor Society. When it came time to choose a college, Oliveri originally thought about playing baseball up at school until the football coaches from Worcester Polytechnic Institute changed his mind, and influenced him to play football for the Engineers.

While at WPI, Oliveri enjoyed success as a linebacker compiling 62 and 76 tackles during his sophomore and junior years. In his senior year he broke his foot while playing a game against the Coast Guard team, cutting his season short. Despite losing out on his final year with the Engineer, Oliveri is thankful for the time he got to play.

When he’s not training, or studying, he can be found watching movies, playing Pitch or golfing when the weather gets warmer. Oliveri expects to graduate with a degree in civil engineering. He already has a job lined up at when he graduates in May.    

Favorite food: Chicken Parmesan

Favorite movie: Goodfellas

Favorite collegiate or professional team: New York Yankees

Favorite athlete or role model: Jerod Mayo, I really like the way he plays and I’m a Patriots fan, but Clay Matthews is very good too. He’s only a few years older than me, what did I do wrong (laughs)?

What’s on your iPod right now? Classic rock and Bruce Springsteen

What have you been up to since graduating from Milford High School in 2006?

I decided to go to WPI and stay close to Central Massachusetts. I played football there for four years, captained my senior year, but the [senior] season didn’t really turn out the  way I wanted to as I broke my foot half way through. So that was pretty upsetting. Other than that, school’s going great. I’m set up with a nice job at Consigli Construction in Milford, so I’m pretty pumped.

What other activities or extracurricular activities have you taken part in over the last few years at WPI?

Football and studies take up a lot of my time, but I’ve found a little time to join a fraternity called Sigma Phi Epsilon. I was house manager and that kind of got me involved within the house, and the fraternity does a great job of getting all the members involved in the school. We do a lot of fundraisers, like Penny Wars. Usually every single fundraiser we will pick a certain charity and donate all the funds to them.

How have the past four years of football gone for you at WPI?

Freshman year, when I first showed up to camp in August, I really had no clue what to expect. I came in small and undersized, but the rest of that year was just maturing a lot and coming to the realization that I need to put together some serious time in the weight room and a lot of scout team. I felt like that was a really important year for me because that’s where I started to put on a little size and I just took off from there. Unfortunately for us, we had a couple injuries at linebacker and fortunately for me, I got to step in. Once I did that I never really looked back.

My senior year I got injured on one of the first plays versus Coast Guard when the pile just kind of collapsed on me and my foot just gave way. It’s pretty unfortunate. I tried to come back and got one more start in at the end of the season, but my foot wasn’t letting me do it. But all in all, it was a great football experience at WPI.

What made you choose WPI in the first place and what other schools were you looking at?

I was more concerned with baseball going into my senior year in high school, so I was looking at Clark [University], St Anselm [College] and Assumption [College]. I wanted to play baseball, but football just treated me the best and was the most rewarding in the long run and I chose to stick with that. The coaches did a great job of recruiting me, too. They were bothering me all the time, (laughs) and other than that, WPI has a great reputation and is a great school.

Can you talk a little bit about your Milford High School experience and if you have any favorite moments while there on or off the field?

When I went to school at Milford I was pretty fortunate to play with some pretty good athletes. Some memories to point out were obviously the Super Bowl win in 2006. We played South Hadley twice, so it was nice to get a little revenge back senior year. In basketball, was when we played Tantasqua and when both teams were undefeated. I have never seen Milford High School so packed. They couldn’t fit anyone else in the gym. So that was a pretty cool experience. As far as baseball goes, beating St. John’s in the playoffs [was memorable] because they beat us in the playoffs in basketball.

You mentioned that baseball was your first love and priority during your senior year of high school, so why did you pursue football instead in college?

Football is my favorite because I just love the preparation and the hard work for 10 days out of the year. You have to figure each game is three hours long, so it’s 30 hours out of the year that you train so much harder and longer for. I just like that because I’m a big advocate of “hard work pays off” and if I work harder than the person lining up across from me, I’m fully confident that I’m going to beat them on that play.

Who have been the most influential people in your life?

Definitely my parents and my grandfather. They never missed one game in any sport. And in college, they had to drive pretty, so I’m very fortunate to have them there. They’ve seen me in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, so it’s always good to know you have someone backing you up in that corner.