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volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to build houses for Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans.
Pankit Doshi, selected as a 2008 Southern California Rising Star by Superlawyers magazine, serves as President of South Asian Bar Association of Southern California.
Suketu Khandhar leads the swadhyays for young Jain adults at the Jain Center of Northern California in Milpitas. Sumit Khandhar worked as a volunteer in Nepal and Surat, India. Samir Khandhar volunteered to help tsunami victims in South India and founded a national Beta Chi Theta fraternity at UCLA.
What is the common thread between these and many more such stories and exceptional accomplishments that have not been documented here? These individuals are all alumni of the Jain Center of Southern California Pathshala (JCSC); and their underlying motivation is derived from the core values of Jainism.
It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us is a book published in 1996 by thenFirst Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in which she focuses on the impact individuals and groups outside the family have on a child's well-being. With an enrollment approaching 400 students and managed by a team of nearly 70 teachers and volunteers, our Pathshala program has been one of the most successful and rewarding activity at JCSC. It truly exemplifies the spirit of an African proverb, "Regardless of a child's biological parents, its upbringing belongs to the community.
In addition to achieving and pursuing highly successful career goals, our JCSC's Young Jain Americans are actively involved in the community, both as participants and contributors, in supporting humanitarian causes and in promoting eco-friendly lifestyle in the USA and aboard. With a sense of great pride and confidence, we humbly acknowledge that the futures of Jainism in America and of the Jain Center of Southern California are well assured.
The graduates, or alumni, of JCSC's Pathshala have made significant progress in pursuing various professions and careers. The following list of alumni was compiled from the information received from the parents and is by no means inclusive and complete. JCSC Pathshala program has been in existence for over 25 years and this list should have many more names. We apologize for the incomplete list due to lack of available information. Michchhami Dukkadam.