Sarah Jiter (second from right) congratulates Krish Patel for his receiving the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor’s Scholarship during a surprise announcement on Monday, Feb. 3, at Massac County High School. Looking on are (from left) Patel’s parents, Hetal and Pankaj “Paul” Patel, and Leslie Goines, MCHS Class of 2025 guidance counselor. Jiter, the college’s director for undergraduate admissions, was assisted in the presentation by (from left) Chris Mullins, associate dean in the College of Health & Human Sciences; Sheryl Tucker, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs; and Brad Caldwell, associate dean in the School of Education.
Classmates in Krish Patel’s second hour P.E. class cheer on the Massac County High School senior as he learns he’s the recipient of a Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor’s Scholarship on Monday, Feb. 3.
The Patel family — (from left) Hetal, Krish and Pankaj — holds the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor’s Scholarship presentation check following a surprise announcement on Monday, Feb. 3.
METROPOLIS, Ill. — With cheers from classmates in his second hour P.E. class, Massac County High School senior Krish Patel covered his mouth in shock and then walked forward.
Patel is the recipient of a Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor’s Scholarship.
The surprise took place Monday, Feb. 3.
Sarah Jiter (second from right) congratulates Krish Patel for his receiving the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor’s Scholarship during a surprise announcement on Monday, Feb. 3, at Massac County High School. Looking on are (from left) Patel’s parents, Hetal and Pankaj “Paul” Patel, and Leslie Goines, MCHS Class of 2025 guidance counselor. Jiter, the college’s director for undergraduate admissions, was assisted in the presentation by (from left) Chris Mullins, associate dean in the College of Health & Human Sciences; Sheryl Tucker, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs; and Brad Caldwell, associate dean in the School of Education.
Patel is the son of Pankaj “Paul” and Hetal Patel of Metropolis. His older sister Rajvi is a junior at SIUC, which highly influenced his decision to attend there.
The Patel family — (from left) Hetal, Krish and Pankaj — holds the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor’s Scholarship presentation check following a surprise announcement on Monday, Feb. 3.
It was actually Rajvi who took the call of Patel’s receiving the scholarship.
His father Pankaj said when he read the email, he thought his son was just receiving a scholarship. When he spoke with Leslie Goines, MCHS Class of 2025 guidance counselor, he realized it is much more.
Classmates in Krish Patel’s second hour P.E. class cheer on the Massac County High School senior as he learns he’s the recipient of a Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor’s Scholarship on Monday, Feb. 3.
The $107,000 scholarship covering tuition, mandatory fees, on-campus housing and food for four years gives Patel a full ride to SIUC while he obtains his bachelor’s degree.
As Patel’s counselor for his four years at MCHS, Goines said she knew SIUC would be a good fit for him.
Goines said SIUC was Patel’s top choice, so she was excited when she got the call a few weeks ago.
Goines said she had trouble contacting Patel’s parents, so she contacted his sister, being careful not to spoil the surprise. Rajvi Patel had also applied for the scholarship her senior year at MCHS in 2022.
Goines said when they were speaking, she expressed, “I’m happy that he got it.”
“Krish is a great young man,” said MCHS principal Parker Windhorst. “He’s so deserving. We’re all so happy for his hard work paying off for him and his family. He’s going to be a great representative at SIU just like he’s been for Massac County High School.”
Patel is a member of the National Honor Society, the Accounting 1 Team in 2023, the Accounting 2 Team in 2024 and 2025 and Future Farmers of America in 2024 and 2025. He is currently in the Metropolis Rotary Club. Along with his MCHS courses, including AP coursework, he is also in the dual enrollment program at Shawneee Community College. Through these courses, Patel is on track to enter college as a sophomore.
Patel was one of 26 students in 15 Southern Illinois high schools who received the surprise visit earlier this week. A total of 34 high school seniors have been chosen as SIUC 2025 chancellor’s scholarship recipients.
Students with an overall GPA of 3.8 or better can apply for the scholarship. This year, over 600 high school students nationwide competed in the selection process. Selected students demonstrate high academic achievement, have a strong record of leadership in their communities and participate in numerous extracurricular activities.
Sarah Jiter, the college’s director for undergraduate admissions, said the application process allows SIUC staff the opportunity “to get to know the student a little bit more. We work with the schools to help pick who that student is — who really wants to go to SIU and who do they think is really one of their outstanding students. Between the two of us, we select our award winners.”
Five SIUC delegations traveled through Southern Illinois Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 3-4, to surprise the chancellor’s scholarship recipients.
Patel said he was surprised as his parents walked into the MCHS gym and then he realized there were others walking in with a presentation check.
While Patel at one point was leaning toward engineering for his degree, on Monday, he said he’s now looking at pre-med.
Patel said while having fun is first on his list for attending SIUC, he’ll also study and work hard as he prepares for the next step.
“I’m thinking pre-medical. We’ll see what happens from there,” he said.
As a Saluki herself, Goines said she’s glad the area has SIUC as a choice.
Terra Temple is a reporter for The Metropolis Planet. Visit metropolisplanet.com to read the full article.
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