A blend of cultures—superstitions and all

When Ed Propst was young, his mother told him it was bad luck to cut his nails at night. At 35, he thinks it is just a silly Filipino superstition. But he abides by it for two reasons: he is partly (self-confessed) “mama’s boy” and also partly Filipino.

Propst, an employee at the Northern Marianas College and a professional photographer, has both American and Filipino blood running in his veins.

His father, who is originally from Illinois, met his mother in the Philippine province of Leyte during his stint with the U.S. Peace Corps. After a three-year courtship, the couple got married and had three children.

Propst, the youngest and the only boy, was born in Samoa and raised on Saipan. He obtained higher education from the University of Hawaii in Manoa.

Despite being a product of so many different cultural influences, Propst maintains that he is as much a Filipino as he is an American.

“I don’t speak Tagalog, but I understand Filipino culture—even the superstitions. Some of them are just plain funny, but they are so embedded in my brain that I keep following them,” he says in an interview in his soon-to-open photography studio at NMC’s As Terlaje campus.

Propst first visited his mother’s hometown when he was seven years old. He never had an opportunity to go back until October last year, when he visited the Philippines with his parents.

He describes the trip as more an eye-opener than a sightseeing tour.

“It was a real homecoming. It was great to see my family again. I saw my cousins. I remember playing with them when I was 7. Everybody treated us so kind, like they’ve known us forever,” he relates.

Seeing the huge gap between the rich and poor in Manila was likewise overwhelming, he says. “Wealth became less important. It taught me to appreciate what I have. I felt blessed, having great family and friends.”

But the traffic, as well as the bumpy flight back to Saipan, gave his system the greatest shock, he says in jest.

“Driving in Manila was scary. I think Filipinos are the best drivers in the world. They are one inch away from each other, but they never crash,” he says.

“The rain poured really hard on the night we were flying back to Saipan. There was lightning, and thunder, and stormy rain. I don’t really like to fly. So during the whole three-hour flight, I made a resolution to just be the best person I could be,” he adds.

Propst is the director of the NMC’s Office of Student Services and Leadership. He owns Pacific Digital Media, a photography company that will launch its new studio at the Small Business Development Center at the NMC campus.

Propst is married to Daisy Pangelinan Manglona. They have a daughter, Kiana Lei.