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Thank You America |
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by Alex Leon, Glendale College Foundation |
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It was easy to spot Bhupesh Parikh at the “Thank You America” celebration Saturday, August 2 at Glendale Community College. He and his wife Kumud were the lovely couple accepting congratulations from 180 family, friends and college staff for their efforts in helping to raise $1,500,000 for health sciences and technology at the college.
The allied health building opened in 2007 and was named the Bhupesh Parikh Health Sciences and Technology building. The expanded nursing program bears the name of his wife, Kumud. The 41,000 square-foot building gives the college its first on-campus health sciences lab, as well as digital arts and graphics labs. As soft music filled the late afternoon air Saturday, guests sipped soft drinks and enjoyed appetizers during the reception portion of the evening, held adjacent to the “Thank You America” donor wall. Later, before dinner was served, emcee and Glendale College Foundation President Harry Hull hosted a program that highlighted the essence of people working together for a common goal. Glendale College Superintendent/President Dr. Audre Levy spoke and presented the Parikhs with a plaque. College trustees Victor King, Anita Gabrielian and Tony Tartaglia also attended, along with city councilman Dave Weaver. Donors who spoke about the significance of giving back to such a worthwhile cause included Ganpat Patel and Harcovind Patel, Mathew Matti and Aand Rao Lingayap. Cynthia Dorroh, Associate Dean of Health Sciences and Director of Nursing at the college, said that she thought it was a beautiful and incredible evening, and it showed that the donors, especially Parikh, have stepped up in a way that goes far beyond their financial commitments. “Bhupesh stops by the college on a regular basis with a friend or two and loves to get a tour of the labs and the facility, and that goes way beyond how your traditional donor would participate,’’ Dorroh said. “The celebration Saturday also gave our nursing students a chance to show off and showcase the skills they have learned, and it gave them a chance to interact with the donors who have brought a lot of excitement and good feelings to what we are trying to do here.’’ According to Dorroh, what the nursing program is trying to do is to help address a critical workforce shortage of nurses. Thanks to the financial commitment made by Parikh and his fellow donors, the Glendale College nursing program has expanded to 228 nursing students, compared to a range of 105 to 110 before they moved into the new facility last year, and a total of 1199 pre-nursing students throughout the program. But while many of the individuals present at the celebration have donated tens of thousands of dollars and had a classroom named after them or purchased tiles that bear their names on the donor wall, much of what has been accomplished and celebrated Saturday has been driven by Bhupesh Parikh and his family and their desire to give something back to their adopted country and community.
Thank you America, indeed.
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