Roshan Patel’s experiences teach him the value of education

Nicholls student Roshan Patel, accounting senior, from Bardoli, Gujarat, India has come to realize the true value of education from past experiences and his father.

At the age of 12, Patel’s father relocated his family from India to Houston, Texas. Patel arrived not knowing how to speak any English. At first it was scary, but he began to adjust to life in America by learning English through school, friends and TV.

“It’s a learning process; they still have words that confuse me,” Patel said. “Being that English was never my strength and I have always been good with numbers I knew I wanted to pursue a degree that involved numbers.”

Patel moved to New Orleans his 12th grade year and from there applied to colleges in the area. He chose to come to Nicholls because of their association to Advance Collegiate School of Business. This puts the program here at Nicholls on the same standard as colleges in New York.

He is finishing his last semester of his undergraduate degree, but he has started two Masters’ classes. He is in the Master of Business Administration program here at Nicholls.
“After I complete my schooling I want to work for the Pricewaterhouse Coopers (accounting and consulting firm) in Houston, Texas which is the largest accounting firm in the world,” Patel said. “I have already completed an internship with them, and next summer I will [be] completing an audit internship.”

Even though the move from India to America was many years ago, Patel is still learning new lessons and has seen education from a global perspective.

“Some people in America may not value education as much as I would, because I have seen how much education costs,” Patel said. “Education in India isn’t free; my dad sent my brother and I to boarding school when we lived in India, he sacrificed a lot to be able to send us [to school] and then to move us to America.”

Since Patel attended boarding school in India and his father paid so much money, Patel feels it would be unfair of him to not take advantage of the free education being offered.
“My dad dropped out and has done a lot with organizations. He pushed us to get an education,” Patel said. “He knew how hard he had to work and wanted his children to go further.”

Patel keeps busy with not only his education, but he also believes that being involved in various organizations around campus can help you with future jobs and resumes.

“One piece of advice I would give to a college student is to network.” Patel said. “Just find things your passionate with. Join them and get involved when you’re a freshman. Once you get your schedule and learn how to manage your time, you can pick up another organization.”

During his time with PwC, he was a participant along with 21 other people. According to Patel, all of the students he met were extremely involved.

Patel’s life might be quite hectic with the homework from his two undergrad classes and his two MBA classes, being a member of six organizations and working 30 hours a week, but he still manages to have down time.

“If I have any free time, I usually just hang out with friends or go to New Orleans,” Patel said. “The weekends are usually the only days I have free; Saturday is spent doing homework for all my classes, but Sundays are my day to just relax and hang out.”

Patel’s inspiration behind all of his hard work and long hours is his father. His father’s sacrifices made him appreciate the value of an education.

“I kind of came from nothing, moving from India to America at such a young age,” said Patel. “My dad brought us here and I feel like I have to pay him back by taking full advantage of my education. My dad made a lot of sacrifices for my brother and myself so that we could have this education.”