Rutgers Alumnus Lost on 9/11 Lives on through Scholarships
Twenty-five years after Rutgers alumnus Neil G. Shastri died in the World Trade Center attacks, his family and friends celebrate his legacy through an endowed scholarship that benefits students in the Rutgers Future Scholars program.
He had recently returned from his honeymoon in Hawaii.
Neil G. Shastri, who graduated from the Rutgers Business School in 1998, had married his college sweetheart, a fellow alum, earlier in the summer of 2001.
He had been working for two weeks as an IT consultant at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center when he reported to work on the morning of Tuesday, September 11. He had bragged to his brothers about the incredible view.
The last contact anyone had with him was when he called his wife, coughing, to tell her that there was a lot of smoke and he was having difficulty breathing.
Then the line went dead.
Neil’s twin brother, Jay Shastri, put up missing posters in the city.
“He was just 25 years old, so young," says older brother Umang Shastri PHARM ‘96. "We had over a thousand people attend his memorial service a month later at our high school.”
The Shastri family set up a scholarship fund for students at Midland Park High School in Bergen County.
“We didn’t have much bandwidth to think about what we were going to do,” Umang says. “We were still grieving.”
Neil was one of 37 Rutgers alumni who perished that day.
Neil’s Legacy
Umang, an attorney, says he had started a new job when the idea of starting a nonprofit in his brother’s memory evolved.
Neil’s family and friends then created the Neil G. Shastri Foundation to commemorate his life. It was formalized in 2002. The foundation’s mission is to continue Neil’s legacy by engaging in philanthropic endeavors that reflect his generous spirit and passion for learning, and to promote volunteerism. Most of the groomsmen from Neil’s wedding, including his Rutgers and high school friends, became members of the board of trustees and discussed Neil’s priorities, which included supporting education for underserved populations.
The foundation board honored Neil’s passion for learning with a $50,000 endowment for the Rutgers Future Scholars program, funded by proceeds from its annual fundraiser. Last year, the foundation board established the endowed fund. This year, the foundation is hosting “United in Memory, Inspired by Light,” a special evening celebrating the life and legacy of Neil G. Shastri, which will raise additional funds for the endowed scholarship for Rutgers Futures Scholars.
Kim Williams, director of Rutgers Future Scholars, is grateful for the family’s support of the program, which enrolls seventh-grade students in Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Rahway and creates a pathway to and through college graduation and beyond. Launched in 2008, the scholarship program supported more than 3,700 students.
“We want to thank the Shastris and the Neil G. Shastri Foundation for making a difference in the lives of so many students who benefit from the Rutgers Future Scholars program,” Williams says. “Countless promising students would not have the opportunity to attend college if it were not for the program.”
The Shastris say they are thrilled to support Rutgers Future Scholars and have been getting to know some of its recipients. “I think it’s a great partnership,” says Shefali M. Shastri RC ’96, RWJMS’02, Umang’s wife and the foundation’s secretary, adding that the foundation was looking for ways to give back, especially in the communities that mean the most.
“We think the Future Scholars program is very meaningful and thoughtfully developed,” she says. “I think part of it is putting together an endowment of financial donations, and part of it is also volunteering and giving part of our time and mentorship.”
The foundation researched causes that focus on education and underserved populations, and the Rutgers Future Scholars program is a perfect fit, Shefali says. “Being able to honor Neil through the Rutgers Future Scholars program has been just very synergistic because I think a lot of us are passionate about our time at Rutgers and the relationships that we built.”
Normally, the foundation hosts a golf outing fundraiser, since Neil was an avid golfer, scoring his best round of 88 on his honeymoon. The 25th anniversary banquet is a special way to remember Neil and an opportunity to make a difference, Umang says.
The banquet is not only a commemoration of 25 years but, thanks to Rutgers, also celebrates the knowledge, skills, and network developed.
“Our friends and family, many of whom are Rutgers alumni, have achieved a level of professional success that puts us in a position to give back even more to our community,” Umang says. “We have more time and resources to really take the Neil G. Shastri Foundation to the next level, while also helping us channel our grief in a positive way.”
Rutgers Pride
Looking back, Umang says he is grateful for the two precious years he had with Neil at Rutgers. “We would get my friends and his friends together, and we would play basketball,” he says, noting they also enjoyed the Association of Indians at Rutgers events. “We had a lot of fun getting dinner, spending time around campus, and going to basketball games together.”
The Shastri brothers were born in Pittsburgh and later moved to New Jersey, graduating from Midland Park High School before both Umang and Neil went to Rutgers. Umang graduated from the Ernesto Mario School of Pharmacy and went to Seton Hall Law School. He now works at Ferring Pharmaceuticals as the firm’s counsel. Neil’s twin brother Jay, a nephrologist working at Atlantic Care, is vice president of the foundation.
“We miss Neil dearly,” Umang says. “You don’t even think about something like this happening when you are young. There is no precedent for it. There is nothing that could prepare you for that.”
Neil, however, lives on in a positive way through his endowed scholarship and his friends’ and family’s memory of his outgoing character.
“Neil had a magnetic, charismatic personality and just naturally connected with people: that was his superpower,” Umang says.
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