Sushila and Madhusudan Patel

Madhusudan took a trip to the United Arab Emirates and appreciated the opportunities available in the wealthier, more developed nation. He realized he needed to leave India to broaden his family’s horizons.  

Madhusudan came to the United States in 1974 to work as an engineer. He first tried to find work in New York. Then, his friends convinced him to join them in  Chicago.  

One year later, Sushila and their three daughters, Mita and her two sisters, joined him.

Madhusudan worked at a nuclear power plant 90 miles away from their home, and Sushila worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. 

They first lived in Rogers Park in Chicago. After Mita finished second grade, the family moved to Des Plaines, a suburb of Chicago, to be nearer Madhusudhan’s workplace.a