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Triumphing Over Tragedy

The Ravals. Clockwise from left: Rasik, Raju, Rupal and Chandrika. Photo courtesy of Raju Raval.

Indian American travels to Oxford to study cancer

By Sheila Lalwani

Raju Raval, a senior at Indiana University in Bloomington, has long dreamed of becoming a cancer researcher — in part, as a tribute to his mother, Chandrika, herself a physician, who passed away from the disease four years ago.

With his college career ending, he is a step closer to his goal. The first-generation Indian American joins an elite fraternity of college students who have been awarded one of education’s highest awards — the Rhodes Scholarship.

Out of a pool of 950 applicants nationwide, Raval was among the 32 chosen. He is the latest Rhodes Scholar from Indiana University since 1994 and the first Indian American chosen in the school’s history.

“I know my mom would be proud,” he says. “In a small way, this keeps her memory alive. She’s still a part of that experience for me.”

Raval entered Indiana University four years ago as part of the renowned Wells Scholars program, named after Herman B Wells, the former university president and chancellor who is widely held for establishing IU’s academic reputation. The award is given to the best and the brightest of the incoming freshman class each year.

Raval will graduate in the top tier of his 2001 class and will be among a select few to graduate with a quadruple degree in biochemistry, biology, religious studies and Spanish.

Although he always knew he wanted to study science, Spanish and religious studies interested him because he “wanted a broad liberal arts degree.” He studied abroad in Spain during his sophomore year.

During his college career, Raval also co-founded Circle K, a volunteer-run organization that helps the economically disadvantaged in the Bloomington community. He has also volunteered at the local shelter for battered women.

After spending the summer interning at the national Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., Raval will head out to England. As a Rhodes Scholar, he will spend the next three years in an intensive doctoral program studying oncology. He also wants to be active in public health policy.

Since his mother’s death, Raval says their family has grown closer. He talks frequently to his sister, Rupal, who is a law student at the University of Notre Dame, and his father, Rasik, who lives in Raval’s hometown of Fort Wayne. He likes to think being named a Rhodes Scholar is an honor, especially to his mother.

Raval keeps close ties with his family in India. Although he grew up in Indiana, he spent the first four years of his life in India. While his mother was completing her residency, his paternal grandparents cared for him in Gujarat.

Watching his parents work hard taught him to do the same. Raval says he often sees the accomplishments of immigrants highlighted, but added that the accomplishments of Asian Americans are sometimes hidden.

“First-generation Asian Americans have made it, as well,” he says, adding to his pride in being able to represent the Indian American community, his university and Indiana.

Growing up, Raval says, he watched his mother care for her patients with the warmth of a friend. There, he explains, the seeds of how to be a good physician were planted.

When he was in the fourth grade, Chandrika was diagnosed with cancer. To focus on her health, she eventually retired from her practice and spent her remaining years at home. During that time, Raval spent as much time with her as he could. She lost her eight-year battle with breast cancer during Raval’s senior year in high school.

Says friend Charlene Brown: “If he could have an impact, [cancer] is the area he wanted to have an impact on.”