Krisha Patel, a sophomore at Oxford College who was known to many as caring, thoughtful and genuine to friends and strangers alike, died on Dec. 3, 2023 at 19 years old. She is survived by her mother, Parul Patel, and her father, Bimal Patel.
Born in Bellflower, Calif. on May 22, 2004 before moving to Irvine, Calif. as a child, Krisha was a “happy-go-lucky” kid who wore princess dresses and tiaras to school. She frequently listened to her grandmother’s stories before she could read books on her own, a passion that led to her listening to over 1,600 audiobooks of all genres in the last year of her life, her parents said. Parul Patel remarked that while Krisha would listen to the audiobooks at triple speed, she still absorbed all the information and enjoyed discussing the books.
Krisha loved animals, house-sitting her neighbors’ pets and walking dogs in her neighborhood. She took great care of her hamster, Parul Patel said, adding that she hoped to adopt more animals, especially a cat, when she was older.
“She always talked about growing up, she’ll have two apartments: one for her and then one for all the animals she was going to house,” Bimal Patel said.
Krisha enjoyed biking and going to coffee shops with her friends. When she was younger, she played soccer and did gymnastics, and she later went on to play tennis for her high school team, Parul Patel said. Krisha also liked to spend time in the kitchen. Some of her specialty recipes included banana bread and soups, which Parul Patel said she would make in “really creative” ways. When Krisha needed to de-stress, she often liked to roam grocery store aisles.
Parul Patel highlighted that Krisha was thoughtful beyond her years, remembering that she did not let her work define her and instead focused on what made her happy. Her parents believe Krisha’s biggest accomplishment was how she affected others — she made “a lot of people feel very, very special,” Parul Patel said.
“One [person] said, ‘I would not have gone through high school without Krisha; I would have dropped out,’” Parul Patel said.
Noah Lian (23Ox, 25C) met Krisha about one year ago in a Harry Potter-themed course. They “clicked instantly” and became friends over winter break after Krisha reached out to him, Lian said. He remarked that he felt like he had known her “forever” when they talked.
“She didn’t really need to try that hard to make people like her,” Lian said. “She had a personality that was very magnetic.”
Nayana Gowda (24Ox) became friends with Krisha during her second semester at Oxford. She said one of her favorite qualities about Krisha was that she saw the good in people.
“She never put anyone down, ever,” Gowda said. “She would always just think very positive about others, whether she knew them very well or not.”
On campus, Krisha started as a biology major but switched her course of study and planned to attend Goizueta Business School, according to her parents. On top of classes, Krisha was a statistics tutor, on the Oxford Art Club executive board and a member of Assistant Professor of Biology Emily McLean’s genetics lab, alongside Gowda.
“Krisha really impressed me with how detail-oriented she was and thoughtful,” McLean said. “She was also really kind and patient with the other students in her lab grouping class.”
Lian added that Krisha was a straight-A student but would never brag about her intelligence.
“She downplayed everything that she did, but I knew and I could see from her that she was just really brilliant,” Lian said.
Berkeley Borkert (23Ox, 26C) first met Krisha in a biology lab course last year. They grew closer when they had an economics class together the following semester.
“When you first meet her, the first thing you notice about her is just the genuine kindness that she exudes,” Borkert said. “She always walked with a little bounce in her step. She had very cute style. She always smiled at people walking by, even if she didn’t know them super well.”
Borkert remembered that Krisha invited her over last year to study for their first economics exam, but their books and laptops were closed within five to ten minutes as they dove into the “most engaging conversation” Borkert ever had with somebody she just met.
“Since then, we were pretty much inseparable,” Borkert said. “Texted every single day of the summer, did a lot of things together all the time, always made time for each other.”
Lian, Gowda and Borkert all emphasized the thoughtfulness and care Krisha exhibited in each of her friendships. Lian said that Krisha, who enjoyed art, made personalized gifts for her friends based on inside jokes and experiences. They all highlighted how Krisha would frequently check up on her friends, with Borkert underscoring Krisha’s “generosity” toward others.
“I think she wants to be remembered as someone who was loving, was caring and most of all was so real,” Lian said. “I felt so comfortable being around her and I really, really trusted her with everything that I had.”
Krisha’s death is a “huge loss” to the Emory community, Borkert said.
“The loss of Krisha is a tragedy for those who loved her and for our entire community,” Oxford Dean Badia Ahad wrote in an email to the Wheel. “I’ve had the opportunity to talk with her parents, some of her friends, and some of her professors over the last few weeks about her many gifts and the spirit she brought to our community. She was a treasured daughter; a loving and loyal friend; a bright, curious, hardworking and engaged student with a deep sense of integrity and justice; and a devoted member of her faith community.”
Lian expanded on Ahad’s sentiments, speaking to his personal experience as Krisha’s friend.
“She made an impact on a lot of people,” Lian said. “I didn’t really realize how important she was to me until she left.”
Emory will host a memorial service for Krisha on Friday, Feb. 2, at 3:30 p.m. in the Oxford Student Center’s (OSC) Greer Forum. A reception in the OSC’s Mural Room will immediately follow. There will also be a Zoom option for those unable to attend in person.
