| Place a Classified | Subscribe today | July 10, 2009 |
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Following family tradition
POCATELLO -- Nick Ogami said that his life was headed in the wrong direction during his first two years at Bora High School in Boise.
While he was developing into a promising soccer player, he was getting poor grades and engaging in full teenage rebellion, giving little thought to anyone but himself. But one conversation changed his perspective forever. His father, the son of a World War II veteran and Japanese internment camp survivor, sat him down at the height of his rebellious phase and gave him a simple charge that he said he's never forgotten. "He told me it was a Japanese tradition for the male to make a life for his family and kids better than what he was given," Ogami said. "That's what his grandpa did, that's what his dad did, and that's what he's doing."
Ogami, who is currently a sophomore at ISU majoring in nursing, said that the simple conversation put a lot of pressure on him to achieve and made him rethink how he had been going through life. "Before that moment, it was all about me," he said. "I didn't really think into the future and I was really egocentric."
That pressure, he said, is what has driven him to succeed since that day both in school and in sports. "That's the one thing that's really stuck with me," he said. Before coming to ISU, Ogami pursued his passion for soccer. He's played competitively since the age of 11, and made the varsity soccer team in high school as a freshman.
Playing as a midfielder, he led Bora to its first state finals game in 20 years in 2005 during his senior year, leading the district in goals that season with 18. While Ogami said he was discouraged by the team's second-place finish, he pursued his passion into college, playing two years as a forward at Walla Walla Community College in Washington.
The team made the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Final Four both years, playing for the conference championship his first year there. Even though Ogami and his teammates fell short of winning both times, he still received recruitment offers from several NCAA Division 3 schools.
But he ended up choosing ISU due both to its lower cost and to its health education program. "The medical aspect of ISU is phenomenal," Ogami said.
He came to Pocatello knowing almost no one, but said that it didn't take long for him to find a home at ISU. "Basically I ran into a bunch of Kappa Sigmas, they invited me to some rush events and the rest is history," he said.
Ogami became president of his pledge class, and shortly after being initiated into Kappa Sigma Fraternity was elected ISU Greek Council president. "I had no idea what I was getting into," Ogami said. "I went in there blind, and I didn't even know what to do."
He said he picked up the role of leadership quickly, however, which he attributed to the time spent playing soccer and the training he got from being an Eagle Scout. Further adding to his quick accomplishments, Ogami was also elected first Grand Scribe, and then Grand Master of Ceremonies of his fraternity. And he was later named the 2008 ISU Greek Man of the Year, all in his first semester as a member. But Ogami plans to step back from his extracurricular activities following this year to focus on getting into the nursing program. He said that the simple conversation with his dad grew into a way of living, and was a major part of who he is today. "It's gone from being able to provide a better life for my future family, which is important to me, to more of an example thing," he said. "Lead by example." Article RatingReader CommentsSubmit a CommentCommenting RulesWe encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are subject to deletion by our Web staff.
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