Brother Rice student Mitch Marozas is just like any other high school freshman. He has adjusted to his new surroundings and is used to the everyday routine of high school. He has met many new individuals and made several new friends. Oh, and he is also ranked number eight in the world for flying model airplanes.
While many people fly model airplanes and helicopters as a hobby, Mitch Marozas has turned it into a serious sport. Since age five, Marozas has been taking to the skies. “My dad started it, and he’s the one who got me into it. He’s the reason I started flying.” Gradually, he began to make steady progress and got better and better. “At some point each day I practice flying. I don’t know how many hours a week, but I can get easily distracted by it and sometimes spend hours out there.” His hard work and determination definitely did not go unnoticed when the helicopter company Gaui offered him a sponsorship. Since then, his work ethic started to pay off.
In 2010 Marozas won the World Micro and Mini Heli Cup and the Electric Flight Expo. He also placed 3rd at the 2010 I-Hobby Airplane Cup, the 2009 World Micro and Mini Heli Cup, and at the 2009 Electric Flight Expo. Marozas has also participated in the E-Fest Heli Smackdown, the IRCHA One Competition, and ended with a 13th place finish at the 2010 Extreme Flight Championship. These contests have taken him across the United States and to Taiwan, and he hopes to fly in the Netherlands later this year. Obviously, Mitch is enjoying his share of success that his dedication and commitment to the sport has brought him over the past couple of years.
When asked to sum up the whole experience, Mitch said, “It’s been exciting. I’ve always been into anything that flies, and to be able to turn my passion into competition has been great.” The success Mitch has achieved at such a young age certainly foreshadows a bright future. “Hopefully, I can get a job doing this sort of thing in the future and can turn it into a profession. I don’t really ever want to stop flying.” And at the rate he’s going, the Brother Rice community would surely be pleased to hear that.
