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Alumni and Friends

Notable Alumni | James Parobek: A Life of Law and Influence in Lorain

Notable Alumni Award

Editor’s Note: The College of Arts & Sciences Notable Alumni Awards honor alumni for broad career accomplishments, commitment to community service, and valuable contributions to Ƶ and the College of Arts & Sciences.

James Parobek ’51 Government

James S. Parobek keeps a scrapbook of photos and newspaper cuttings that tell the tale of a lawyer and politician who gave his all to his hometown. And he also gave a legacy of three more Bobcats to Ƶ.

Parobek, now 90 years old, was born in Lorain, Ohio, on Feb. 28, 1929.

He came to Athens to attend Ƶ in 1946, but three weeks into school, he received news that his father had passed away. Parobek dropped out of OHIO and returned to Lorain to help take care of family and manage a store the family owned.

The next semester, he returned to OHIO and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). At school, Parobek was part of Eta Sigma Phi, the honorary society for classical studies, and Phi Delta Epsilon Legal Fraternity.

James Parobek standing behind President John F. Kennedy in a newspaper photo
James Parobek with President John F. Kennedy

OHIO Legacy

Parobek earned a bachelor’s in Government (now Political Science) from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ƶ, followed by a law degree at Ohio State University.

Hr reminiscences about Ohio, “Green is the spring time, white is the winter snow—colors that I adore, My Ohio!”

Parobek’s two sons, James Jr. and Brad, followed his footsteps to Athens and graduated from Ƶ, as did a grandson, Drew.

Headshot of Brad Parobek
Brad Parobek

In 2018,  was named Senior Vice President Sales America for , where he heads up operations in North and South America to drive overall strategy and growth. Brad has more than three decades of experience working within complex environments such as cable and IT telecommunications, broadcasters’ network infrastructures, cloud and device sectors. Friend MTS protects content and revenues for many of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies.

At OHIO, Brad was who a cheerleader, homecoming king and member of Beta Theta Pi. He earned a B.A. in Business Pre-Law from the College of Arts & Sciences.

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