Propst to keynote MCS commencement exercises

Mount Carmel School announced that the keynote speaker for its 2015 high school commencement exercises will be Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan) of the 19th CNMI Legislature’s House of Representatives.  The exercises are set for May 30 at 5pm at Mount Carmel Cathedral.

Propst

Propst is no stranger to Mount Carmel School, having attended first through ninth grade in the 1980s, and to which he attributes his educational foundation. After graduating from high school, he was selected as a Japan Airlines scholarship recipient to attend Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Soon afterwards, he continued his postsecondary studies at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication.

After earning his degree, Propst returned to the CNMI, where he has distinguished himself in media communications, education, and public service. He got his start in media communications by serving as a media lab specialist in the University of Hawaii Communications Department, where he learned skills that would help establish his reputation as one of the CNMI’s top photographers. Propst also started one of the CNMI’s first human interest magazines, MP, which was published by Titan Media Group, a company he launched in 2007. He also owns and operates Pacific Digital Media, which specializes in high-end photography and video production.

Propst has also distinguished himself as a champion for education, having worked with children from toddler ages up through the college level. From 1999 through 2002, he taught English at Marianas High School, where he also served as an adviser for National Honor Society and as a member of the school’s Community Council. For four years after that, he led Northern Marianas College’s Office of Student Activities and Leadership as its director. He soon moved on to work as a program manager for the CNMI’s Head Start Program from 2009 through 2014. Throughout that time, he still managed to volunteer at the Saipan House of Manhoben, serve as an adviser for Teen Talk, and lead Mount Carmel School’s Parent Teacher Organization as its president.

As notable as he is for his involvement in media communications and education, most people in the CNMI know Propst for his commitment to public service, a commitment that began long before he ran for public office. As early as the 1990s, Propst was a member of various community organizations, including the CNMI State Rehabilitation Advisory Council, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, and the Saipan Rotary Club. Since the turn of the millennium, Propst has been a leading voice for activism, change, and reform in government. This drive led him to run for public office in the 2014 elections, in which he garnered the second highest numbers of votes in his precinct.

Mount Carmel School’s graduating seniors nominated Propst to be their commencement speaker, to which school president Galvin Deleon Guerrero immediately agreed.  He said, “Mr. Propst is a true inspiration in our community who demonstrates many of the values that we uphold at the school: humility, hard work, integrity, and respect. Our graduating seniors will definitely learn from his example. We are honored that he has agreed to share some of his wisdom with our students.” (MCS)