Dedication Ceremony Held at Texas School Named After Indian American Trailblazer
- The Sonal Bhuchar Elementary School, which opened its doors this August, is named after the physical therapist and educator who died in 2019 at the age of 58 due to cancer complications.
An elementary school in Texas, named after an Indian American Sonal Bhuchar was formally dedicated to her memory at an official ceremony this past weekend. The Sonal Bhuchar Elementary School in Missouri City is named after the physical therapist, who died in 2019 at the age of 58 due to cancer complications. Speakers at the Oct. 15 dedication event highlighted Bhuchar’s contributions to the community and the needy, a news report said.
The Sonal Bhuchar Elementary School opened its doors this August. It accommodates 1,000 students and includes “an outdoor classroom for student and teacher use on nice weather days,” according to the Fort Bend Independent. The school also has a mural on a wall near the lobby, “bearing Bhuchar’s image alongside a quote that guided her life,” the newspaper reported. The funding for the school was provided through a 2018 bond.
Bhuchar is described as a trailblazer in Fort Bend County and a leader in the field of education. She also had her own physical therapy practice. After her long association with the Fort Bend Education Foundation, Bhuchar was elected to its Board of Trustees for six years and served as the president for two years. During her tenure with the district, she “spearheaded many efforts including chairing the WATCH program (a healthy lifestyle education program for elementary school students), developing the concept for the Fort Bend Education Foundation’s annual International Festival to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the District, the Student Leadership Program and the Legislative Advocacy Program.”
Wanting to expand her community service to the political field too, she sought the Republican Party nomination for the State Representative position in 2012. Three years later, she was appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to the OneStar National Service Commission for a three-year term in 2015.
Up until her passing, she was actively involved as a board member with the Child Advocates of Fort Bend and Parks, Art, Recreation, Culture, and Streetscapes (PARCS). She was a board member for the Literacy Council of Fort Bend, ACCESS Health, Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation, Sugar Land Heritage, the Indo-American Charity Foundation, and the Texas Medical Association Alliance.