Scott Fitzgerald once said “there are no second acts in American lives,” but there are many people who would beg to differ. As many young adults try to figure out where life will take them, it’s safe to say there are people that have their lives separated in many acts.
Kishan Patel graduated from Elk Grove High School in 2014 and enrolled in Bradley University on a scholarship later that year. A mechanical engineering major, Patel always wanted to work in automotive engineering. Although he felt that Bradley was not the best choice for him education-wise, it offered him the best scholarship. “Bradley was never really my first choice. It was mostly my parents’ decision.” Kishan also had scholarship offers from University of Illinois and Illinois State, but received a more lucrative offer from Bradley.
Settling on the sixth floor of Geisert Hall, Kishan lived a relatively quiet life in the dorms. He never drank and rarely went out for social occasions. Unfortunately, he also got caught up with the wrong group of people. There was one associate of his whom he didn’t reference by name that was constantly getting him into trouble. One incident occurred in which said associate jokingly shoved Kishan against the window of the dorm lounge and broke the glass panel. As a result, he was forced to pay hundreds of dollars in damages. There was also an additional incident in which this associate posted an ad on the once-popular social media app Yik Yak, in which it stated to go to Kishan’s room for Wiz Khalifa tickets; he didn’t actually have any and was awkwardly turning down anyone who came to his door.
“I remember him,” said Yosh Hoshi, a Bradley student who lived on Kishan’s floor at the time. “He didn’t even live in the building and he caused more trouble than anyone there. He was pressing the alarm button in the elevator late at night. He shoved Kishan and broke the window, he was really annoying.”
Although unwarranted, Kishan didn’t feel the need to distance himself as he didn’t want to seem petty. But as time went on he felt he couldn’t go on with it any further. He severed all ties with anyone he didn’t like and tried to focus on his schoolwork. This was easier said than done.
Although he enjoyed what he was learning he found little motivation to continue at Bradley. He finished the year with a GPA just above 2.0; nearly avoiding academic probation.
Towards the end of his freshman year, Kishan joined the SAE fraternity where he also lived the first few months of his sophomore year. That summer he adopted a young black Labrador to keep him company. He named her Nyssa, after one of the supporting characters in the television series “Arrow.” It was from that point on that he began to seriously think about his future, and perhaps a higher priority, his finances. Because he had registered late to live in the fraternity, he was still paying for room and board for the semester.
Despite the changes that took place, Kishan decided he didn’t want to be at Bradley anymore and dropped out in November 2015. “I wasn’t actually pursuing what I wanted to do, I was more pursuing what my parents wanted me to do. My parents wanted me to go to engineering school. I decided it wasn’t for me.”
Kishan moved back home to suburban Chicago and enrolled at Universal Technical Institute in Lisle, where he pursued his passion in automotive engineering. Although he was learning what he truly loved, there was a specific program that caught his attention; the coveted Porsche program. Kishan had previously been offered a job with Porsche after high school, but turned it down in order to pursue what he didn’t want to do. Unfortunately, he wasn’t so lucky this time and was rejected from the program.
Kishan was heartbroken. He had little money, no scholarship offers, and wasn’t sure where to go from there. After speaking with his guidance counselor there was one option he hadn’t considered yet; the marine corps. Most of his family was skeptical and disappointed, and Kishan eventually decided to enlist and moved out to the west coast.
“He’s a great brother and works hard to achieve his goals,” said Kishan’s sister Ankita. “He’s willing to help others if he is asked and will go out of his way if he has too. He’s committed towards his goals and you can trust him to get something done right the first time around.”
In the small desert town of Twentynine Palms, California, is the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. When Kishan arrived in early 2017, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. “It sucks, but it’s one of those things where it’s more fun when you think about it later on but it sucks when you’re doing it,” he recalled.
It may be easy to get nostalgic, but the camp itself sure wasn’t fun. The new recruits had to train almost every day of the week in the hot and dry climate. And every day it was different. “Sometimes you ran for a couple of miles and sometimes you ran longer. Sometimes you did death runs or sleigh runs,” Kishan recalled.
When he finished camp, he had to make an even bigger decision than where to go to school; whether or not to enlist in active service. To be eligible he has to finish half his contract, which would mean he has another year and a half before they would ship him overseas. “I would definitely consider it if this whole school thing doesn’t work out. If this whole automotive thing doesn’t work out, I definitely would.”
Since moving back home, Kishan attends College of DuPage to earn academic credit. Still considering going to university full-time, he’s still unsure he would go back to Bradley. Even so, he visited Peoria in March and his attitude about the school certainly changed as he began to get nostalgic. His old friends were certainly happy to see him.
“Before he left, he was a very different person. Emotionally, physically, and mentally,” said Emma DeFreitas, a former classmate of Kishan’s and current Illinois Central College student. “Before Kishan left a lot of his peers didn’t see his potential and dismissed him and that always frustrated me because to me I saw an awesome person who was just different. He is still that same awesome person who is different but he has been given some amazing experiences that have allowed people to see him as he is in a more clear light.”
Jhewel Felipe was one of Kishan’s closest friends during his time at Bradley. She graduated in December 2017, before Kishan could say good-bye. “Overall, Kishan is a good person at heart,” Felipe said. “He went to college because it was expected in his family. After he joined the marines he came back as a changed person. He’s one of my best friends and I will never forget him in life.”
There’s nothing wrong with not having life figured out yet. The train slows down but it never stops. There may be some adjustments on the way, but it’ll reach its destination. Kishan Patel encountered many hardships in his life and he’s not finished yet. Many of his close acquaintances spoke highly of him, and his story isn’t over yet. It’s possible his first act isn’t finished yet.