By: Daisy Guzman ’11 & Julie Ayala ‘11
Imagine traveling 7,777 miles to a new country, one completely different from where you grew up. Shaunak Patel ’11 has had that experience coming to the U.S from India. It is a whole new experience of customs coming to the United States.
It’s been almost a year since Patel has been here in Chicago. With family influences and the permission of the U.S Embassy, Patel came to the United States. At times Patel struggles to adapt to a different way of life then the one he’s accustomed to. “It’s kind of boring here because you can’t really go out at night due to the gangs and violence. There’s more freedom in India” says Patel. He explained how his parents wouldn’t worry about how late he got home or where he was at because it was safer in India. Living here with his uncle and cousins, he still has to look out for himself and his younger brother while the rest of his family is still back in India and his mother is in Iowa. Although American eating habits are diverse, Patel continues to be a vegetarian and mostly eat his traditional Indian foods, due to his religious beliefs.
Patel described how school in India is unlike school here in America. “The teachers educate their students with more advanced mathematics.” Even though they have advanced teaching, they still don’t have as many extracurricular activities as we do. In India, cricket is the main sport played. Patel has been able to expand his athletic ability by joining baseball which is similar to cricket. You may be asking yourself, how did he learn English? Well, Patel stated that he first started learning English since 2nd grade at an English medium school. “Students are respectful and they want to study hard.”
Imagine traveling 7,777 miles to a new country, one completely different from where you grew up. Shaunak Patel ’11 has had that experience coming to the U.S from India. It is a whole new experience of customs coming to the United States.
It’s been almost a year since Patel has been here in Chicago. With family influences and the permission of the U.S Embassy, Patel came to the United States. At times Patel struggles to adapt to a different way of life then the one he’s accustomed to. “It’s kind of boring here because you can’t really go out at night due to the gangs and violence. There’s more freedom in India” says Patel. He explained how his parents wouldn’t worry about how late he got home or where he was at because it was safer in India. Living here with his uncle and cousins, he still has to look out for himself and his younger brother while the rest of his family is still back in India and his mother is in Iowa. Although American eating habits are diverse, Patel continues to be a vegetarian and mostly eat his traditional Indian foods, due to his religious beliefs.
Patel described how school in India is unlike school here in America. “The teachers educate their students with more advanced mathematics.” Even though they have advanced teaching, they still don’t have as many extracurricular activities as we do. In India, cricket is the main sport played. Patel has been able to expand his athletic ability by joining baseball which is similar to cricket. You may be asking yourself, how did he learn English? Well, Patel stated that he first started learning English since 2nd grade at an English medium school. “Students are respectful and they want to study hard.”
Patel chose to attend a military school here in Chicago but Marine Math and Science Academy (MMSA) wasn’t his first choice. Actually he never even knew he was applying for MMSA. Upon arriving to the school he was trying to apply to Phoenix Military Academy (PMA) but their doors were locked. Seeing as he was trying to get in, a Marine cadet came and opened the door for him and his uncle. Once inside, he was taken to our main office where Lt. Colonel Stewart interviewed him, yet at the time Patel was unaware that he was being interviewed for MMSA instead of PMA. He was surprised when his uncle finally told him that he had actually applied to a different school. Overall, Patel likes being at MMSA, “The students and teachers have been friendly and understanding. They work with me if they see I’m having trouble with something.”
Patel plans to continue his education here. In college he wants to major as a computer science engineer and further his studies to do aeronautics for the Marines. He plans to permanently become a citizen of the U.S. in order to do that he has to stay for a minimum of five years. He will go back to India to visit after he has become a citizen, until then he still keeps his traditions alive and keeps in contact with his family. He still says his prayers and celebrates only his culture holidays such as, Raksha Bandhan which is when a sister gives her brother a bracelet to symbolize protection. Despite all the changes in Patel’s life he knows everything will work out. “I believe that God is with me so I don’t have to be scared.”
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