Written by Marie Kane |
Photos by Darby Oboyski & Mr. Sylvia
Darby Oboyski graduated in 2018. He took journalism as a senior, went to Anime club for a couple of years, and formed Morgan’s video game club in his senior year. He is now working at Banana Republic in the Clinton Crossings.
During the club, students play video games and tournaments are held between two teachers. About six to seven people on average were part of it. He started this club because he wanted to be known for something before leaving high school. “You know, like making your mark.” His club met every Thursday. “Each week, we played a new game. There were games that everyone preferred over others but we tried to change it every time.” He started inviting teachers to play against each other. Darby said that the best match was Mr. Gersz playing against Mr. Sylvia. “They played Mortal Kombat X and it was one of the closest matches we ever had.¨
Darby has been working at Banana Republic for almost a year and a half now. He started working there because our manager Ann is family-friends with his best friend Dan. He recommends this job because, “in all honesty, it’s not a hard job; it can just be difficult on holidays.” If Darby gets another job, he will probably working there because our manager Ann is family-friends with his best friend Dan. He recommends this job because, “in all honesty, it’s not a hard job; it can just be difficult on holidays.” If Darby gets another job, he will probably keep this one and make it part-time.
One of his favorite high school memories is from gym in his senior year during ultimate frisbee. “When I was running the frisbee to score a point, I juked Gersz and scored a point.” Gym was his favorite class in high school. “It was the only class where I pushed myself to try my best.”
Mr. Gersz describes Darby as energetic and an honor to have in class. He called Darby a leader by example and said that Darby didn’t take himself too seriously. What he misses the most is Darby’s personality, leadership, and energy. Mr. Gersz explained how Darby was in class for five classes and he would just look at Darby on the first day and say, “You’re back?” He said that when he first had him as a student, he never really liked gym. “Then I had him as a senior and he was in gym all day long. He really excelled.”
Darby gave a shoutout to physical education teacher Peter Gersz and art teacher Justin Sylvia, two people he could never forget. “Gersz is a great man. I always loved listening to his stories. He was a great motivator and was very supportive.” Darby described Mr. Sylvia as a great mentor. “He was always there to help me overcome obstacles and I could always talk to him about personal subjects.”
Mr. Sylvia described Darby as a unique person and continually-surprising to have as a
student in class. A strength of his was choosing topics for his projects that were interests of his such as anime or video games. “This helped him keep his drive while creating his art and made it more special for him.” Mr. Sylvia explained that Darby’s ability to connect people, and his ability to organize events to bring people together is what he misses the most. “One of my favorite memories of Darby was his video game tournament that he set up in the auditorium on the big screen and offered gift card prizes for the winners out of his own pocket.”
If he could go back to high school, he would involve himself more in his school work. “Before, I absolutely hated school and always said I would drop out when I could, but now I don’t know what to do without it.” He misses a lot of his friends. Darby’s advice to seniors is to always be supportive of the underclassmen, and that even if they’re irritating and annoying, try to help them out. “Don’t let the thought of college leave your mind, but remember that your life is yours to live. Don’t let other people tell you how to live your life.” Mr. Sylvia believes that Darby has become more committed to succeeding and was able to see more worth in his ability to achieve. He shared a funny memory of Darby “Joking every day about his ‘breakfast’ of Dunkin; a giant coffee and a two-liter soda!”
Darby said that the extra sleep is a lifesaver, and one word to describe being out of high school is ambidextrous. He did not feel prepared when he graduated. “Even though my stubbornness is somewhat to blame, I don’t think I was properly prepared for the real world.” He explained how while all of Morgan’s assemblies on the dangers of drugs which he does not condone had good intentions, and the right message, he believes that there was more focus on those than there was on the real world.