Rhodes scholar returns to his Norcross high school

He’s been seen on TV commercials and glossy recruitment ads for UGA, a valedictorian turned Rhodes scholar with an impressive future ahead.

Deep Shah, 23, one of Greater Atlanta Christian School’s favorite “sons,” returned to his Norcross alma mater Tuesday to share his adventures in education during a break from his studies at Oxford University.

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Deep Shah

Test scores
• 2009 CRCT
• 2009 High School Graduation Test
• 2008 SAT: School-by-school
• List: Students promoted despite failing CRCT

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“It is my joy to have known Deep since he was in kindergarten,” GAC President David Fincher said. “All along, we knew he was a unique young man who was exceptionally gifted and would accomplish great things.”

Shah hails from a family that served up ambition with the breakfast cereal.

His parents, Drs. J.J. and Meena Shah, graduated at the top of their classes at Baroda Medical College in India in the mid-1970s. They left for the United States a few years later with nothing but their medical degrees and $80. Now, they own Gwinnett Clinic, a multimillion-dollar medical enterprise with 19 offices across metro Atlanta.

Their youngest child, Deep Shah graduated as valedictorian of GAC in 2004, just as his older sisters Asha and Shveta did before him. The girls had perfect SAT scores and are also doctors. Deep Shah, a three-time class president, was the first GAC student to achieve a perfect PSAT score. Upon graduation, he set a record-high grade-point average of 4.85 that made him a legend.

“Everyone who is successful has had a lot of mistakes and setbacks,” Shah told his audience. In elementary school at GAC, Shah said he was not selected for “gifted” classes because of his standardized test scores. “I thought that meant I wasn’t smart,” he said.

And in high school, when he applied for early admission to Harvard University, he was wait-listed. Shah later received the University of Georgia’s most prestigious scholarship, the UGA Foundation Fellowship, which afforded him international educational travel at no expense. He graduated in May 2008 with a 3.99 grade-point average. “I had one A-minus in Spanish,” he said.

Shah credits his family at home and at GAC for helping him to succeed.

“No one … makes it alone,” Shah told students. “Take advantage of the people around you. You guys are part of a special community.”

When Shah finishes studying health policy at Oxford in July, he’s Boston-bound. “He has been accepted to Harvard Medical School,” Fincher announced.

Sixth-grader Katelyn Davis was impressed with Shah. “I like how even though he didn’t make it into Harvard at first, he was still successful.”

“He’s like so inspiring,” added Max Gomas, 13.