Patel Awarded Coke Scholarship

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has designated Memphis University School senior Kushal Patel as a Coke Scholar-Select. As one of 150 high school students chosen from among 105,000 applicants nationwide, he receives a $20,000 merit-based scholarship and joins over 7,000 distinguished alumni recipients. The process involves several selection rounds, essay composition, and personal interviews.
Patel gathered with other recipients in Atlanta April 3-6 for the Coca-Cola Leadership Development Institute, and he will receive ongoing mentorship through the program and gain access to other opportunities, including a specialized networking platform and podcasts.

“Every graduated Coke scholar is in a massive network of thousands of people who are extremely accomplished and successful,” said Patel, who will attend Stanford University in the fall.

At MUS Patel has served as a fencing team captain, Latin Club consul, DECA president, and Student Ambassador. As reflected in his Coke scholar bio, he is passionate about improving health equity in the rural South and about helping the blind and visually impaired navigate their world.

His interest in helping elderly people in the Mississippi Delta was sparked by an MUS DECA project with fellow seniors Oscar Liu and Joey Paul. An idea to battle neurogenerative disease among this population evolved into an effort to connect with residents of Senatobia Healthcare & Rehab after the students realized that loneliness was an even greater problem.

“Loneliness leads to neurodegenerative disease by releasing beta-amyloid in the brain,” Patel said. “So, with that knowledge, we decided to set up visits twice a month.”

After securing a $1,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, the students created bags of treats and craft supplies for the residents and recruited fellow Owls to deliver them the morning of Thanksgiving 2024.

Patel also co-founded Pathlight (pathlightproj.com), a company developing a navigation device for the blind and visually impaired now in the prototype stage. According to the product description, “Pathlight leverages the remaining photosensitivity (light perception) that 85% of blind individuals retain. This wearable headset uses AI to map surroundings, projecting light from micro-LEDs onto the user’s eyes to provide real-time directional guidance. By combining visual and audio cues, Pathlight offers a fully responsive, autonomous navigation system that enhances independence, mobility, and social interaction.”

He meets virtually every Sunday with his two co-founders, who live in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, to discuss the project.

“We split up our tasks equally, and we actually do them. If you do that, then it’s not much,” Patel said.
 
Last summer, the students went to Enventys, a product launch company in Charlotte, North Carolina, to develop their prototype. They partnered with Tracy’s Little Red Schoolhouse, a school for the visually impaired in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to successfully beta-test the device.

In February 2025 they were finalists in the University of Delaware Diamond Challenge, a pitch contest for funding, and advanced to the Limitless World Summit on May 1 in Wilmington, Delaware. In total they have secured $15,500 through pitch competitions, and they have been able to pay back the $3,000 needed to build the prototype and begin pitching.

Another aspect of the Coke program is the selection by each scholar of an Educator of Distinction. Patel chose Fencing Head Coach Sergey Petrosyan, and the award was presented at the Jake Rudolph All-Sports Awards Night April 29. A mentor since Patel was in seventh grade, Coach Petrosyan instilled confidence in the young fencer, a belief in himself that has translated to other parts of his life.

“He taught me that when I step on the [fencing] strip, I should not think about the previous rating. Focus on meeting my opponent on an equal playing field,” Patel said. “That kind of mentality has really helped me. In some groups I am involved with now, I am tempted to feel like an imposter, but Coach Petrosyan’s advice has helped me have a lot more confidence.”
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