Active MTHS Senior Gets Full Scholarship to MIT

COURT HOUSE — Edward Obropta, Jr., 18, a senior at Middle Township High School, has an extreme schedule.
Not only does he manage to earn exceptional grades in advanced placement and honors courses, he is also very active with extra curricular activities and community service all while running his own family business.
His efforts have paid off as he recently received a full scholarship to MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. Although not certain exactly what he will major in, Obropta enjoys math and would like to “build rockets or design planes or something crazy.”
Obropta plays second singles on the high school’s tennis team and has been team captain for the past two years.
Class of 2009 has continually voted him class president for all four years of his high school career. During his time representing his class, he helped to initiate a canned-food drive and plan a winter formal dance in which profits were donated to area churches.
Involved in several school spirit activities like building homecoming float and prom committee, for the past two years Obropta also listens to students voice concerns as vice president of student council.
“I don’t know how it all adds up but it works. I’m always doing something,” he said.
Ranking number one in a class of 271, he said he received informal notification that he will be class Valedictorian.
Among his many academic accolades, Obropta is a member of Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, the school math team and science league and the NJ Envirathon, an event in which high school students compete in eco-friendly exercises.
“It’s like an athletic competition but it’s about the outdoors,” he said.
Obropta plays tenor saxophone as a member of the high school’s Jazz ensemble, which plays for area nursing homes and Dennisville Middle School.
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” he said.
Obropta manages to communicate with other student government members throughout the school day, play with the jazz band one night a week and practice tennis three hours everyday.
The coolest thing, he said, is Romp Apparel, a store he manages on 96th Street in Stone Harbor with his sister, Alanna Joslin, 28, who is in charge of female clothing while Obropta concentrates on the male side of the store. Their parents, Ann and Edward, Sr., have their own screen-printing and embroidery business, which is all done in-house, literally right from the Obropta’s home.
Since 2005, when Obropta was only 14-years-old, he has designed the clothing brand, which is focused on a young adult surf and skate demographic with a mini half-pipe right in the store.
“It’s very youth-oriented. We let customers sign their names on the wall when they make a purchase,” he said. “It’s so popular we are running out of space.”
While the business is open seasonally and responsibilities are shared with his sister, Obropta said he also does a lot of behind the scenes work, like attending fashion conventions in Las Vegas to buy the season’s latest looks.
When he is not involved in school and work endeavors, his interests are eclectic, including skim boarding, quad riding, hiking, canoeing and outdoors activities with his family and volunteering at the Cape May Tennis Club.
“I always like to do a lot of everything. I’d get bored doing the same all the time. Working hard and having it pay off feels good,” he said.
Obropta credits his success to his family being extremely supportive.
“My parents don’t force me to do things,” he said. As a matter of fact, he said they occasionally suggest he take it easy.
As with designing clothing, Obropta enjoys visualizing things and making them become a reality.
“When I see it, I can make it happen,” he said.
Contact Truluck at (609) 886-8600 Ext 24 or at: ltruluck@cmcherald.com