When Raj Patel needs inspiration, he doesn’t need to look any further than his own family.
His family comes from a long line of farmers. However, his great-grandfather broke with that tradition to become an engineer, and his father became the first doctor in his family.

“When we were younger, he would work long nights and long days, even now,” Patel said. “Both he and my mother have worked really hard to get us to where we are now. I feel I should be working at least as hard, or even harder to improve myself and for my family when I’m older. I see what they’re doing I want to keep on doing that.”

Now, Patel, a senior at Newburgh Free Academy and a member of the school’s boys’ tennis team has worked hard to set himself up for a career in the medical field. His efforts have led to him being named the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association’s male scholar athlete from his school.

“It shows that I’m succeeding not only in tennis but in the classroom as well,” Patel said. “It shows all the balancing and time management that comes with that.”

The balancing act was easier at first as he got older and balancing became more difficult, he had to work to figure out what kind of schedule worked best for him to balance everything. As a junior, for instance, he got home from school earlier so was able to eat and maybe get some work done before having to be back for tennis.

“This year it would have been better because I would have been home by noon, but there’s no season,” Patel said.

While, he was sad that there would be no tennis season this year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he said he’s gotten a greater appreciation for the work his father does.”

“My dad’s a doctor and has to go to work every day,” Patel said. “Being around all the sick people and he explains to me that even though I’m missing out on stuff, I feel like I’m gaining a lot more perspective.”

Had there been a season, Patel would have been one of the team’s senior leaders and has been in the program since he was in eighth grade. Newburgh tennis coach Dennis Maher said he was sad that Patel was forced to miss his senior season as he expected him to do well at both the OCIAA and Section 9 championship meets.
“Raj is every coach’s dream,” Newburgh tennis coach Dennis Maher said. “He’s been on the varsity since he was in eighth grade so he’s a five-year varsity starter. He’s made the commitment to not only do the work in the varsity program, but he also takes part in what we build in the community.”

In the community, Patel is a volunteer coach for the Newburgh Tennis Club, which brings the game to Newburgh youth and helps feed the high school program.

“Being able to provide tennis and scholarships and programs for the kids has been really fun,” Patel said.
Maher called the effort Patel and his teammates put forth to teach the game to the youth “inspirational”

“These are kids that are committed to not just playing tennis for Newburgh, but giving back,” he said. “He’s just been such a pleasure to work with and I know he’s going to do amazing things and I’m not surprised that he’s choosing a field in medicine. His commitment with the same passion and energy that he’s shown as a high school student.”

Off the court, he is also a leader academically, in the top 20 percent of the class ranking. He also has researched the relationship between the methods used by the Montefiore St. Luke’s Hospital during and after C-sections and the incidences of Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn.

His research has been approved to be presented at a regional medical conference in March. He also volunteers in the Emergency Room at the hospital and shadowed doctors.

In the fall, Patel will attend St. Bonaventure University, where he has been accepted to a 3-year undergraduate program and then four years of medical school. He always knew he was going into a medical field, but he wasn’t sure if he was going to treat patients or work in the engineering side. His volunteer work at the hospital pushed him toward treating patients.

“Since I started going to the hospital and spending time in the hospital, that really showed me that I really want to be a doctor and treat patients instead of sitting in the lab,” Patel said.

Even though, the pandemic has knocked away many of the trappings of senior year, like prom, and other teenage rites of passage, the Newburgh Enlarged City School district is looking to find a way to host a graduation ceremony.

The whole situation has taught him a valuable lesson.

“Don’t take anything for granted, especially on a tennis court,” Patel said. “If I see a player or team, they shouldn’t be that bad and then we get smoked. Work hard for everything even if you think it’s not going to be that hard. That translates into the classroom. Even if I think it’s going to be easy, work hard because if I don’t do that, something is going to come back and haunt me forever.”