College Celebrates the Naming of the Bhupesh Parikh Student Hall

Cerritos College celebrated the naming of the Bhupesh Parikh Student Hall on September 21. In June, Bhupesh and Kumud Parikh established the Kumud Parikh Family Endowed Scholarship in the amount of $125,000 for Cerritos College students and pledged to raise $25,000 for additional scholarships, totaling $150,000 toward student success.

More than 200 guests joined the evening to celebrate the Parikh family’s generosity, including Dr. Jasvant Modi, Navneet Chugh, Pratima Doshi, Anand Rao, and Primal Shah. The Parikhs have a long history of philanthropy in higher education, community colleges and four-year institutions in the United States. The family has a strong connection to Cerritos College through their community and business partnerships in the City of Artesia. The City has a thriving Indian community in Southern California.

“It just feels right to support Cerritos College and its students. The campus is beautiful and open to the community. Most importantly, it provides a high quality education for students, many of whom are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds,” said Mr. Parikh. "If we give to the small community colleges where we live and work, and where we make money, that is beneficial. It is our way of saying thank you to America."

Bhupesh immigrated to the United States in 1960 from Kadi, India. He earned his M.S. in structural engineering from the University of Southern California in 1964 and began a successful commercial real estate development practice, Pari Enterprises in Glendale, California. He is a founding trustee of Shreeji Temple located in Southern California and two local banks. The Jain Center of Southern California recognized Bhupesh for his outstanding contribution in the construction of the Jain Bhavan in 1988. Subsequently, Kumud is a well-known Gujarati literary author who has published three short-story collections.

The Kumud Parikh Family Endowed Scholarship is currently receiving gifts from friends and family. Indian American donors will be able to have their names added to the Thank You to America Wall, which will be housed in the Bhupesh Parikh Student Hall. Interested donors can contact Monica Lee Copeland, Chief Development Officer, at mcopeland@cerritos.edu to contribute.