Exceptional Kinkaid Education Prompts Prominent Couple to Give Back

Raman family during their Kinkaid days

Dr. Jay K. Raman and his wife, Viji Raman, could not be more pleased with the education their children and grandchildren have received at The Kinkaid School.

The family moved to Houston in 1980, when Dr. Raman accepted a cardiovascular surgery fellowship under Dr. Denton Cooley at the Texas Heart Institute. They considered many schools but ultimately decided on Kinkaid.

“The education of our children was the highest priority for us,” says Dr. Raman.

Their trust in Kinkaid was well rewarded—both of their children, Lavannya ’92 and Sujit ’96, graduated cum laude and received prestigious awards at graduation.

Dr. Raman shares, “Our selection of Kinkaid for our children was one of the best decisions we ever made. Kinkaid gives students a multifaceted education with equal importance placed on academics, athletics, and fine arts, producing well-grounded young men and women. The School has also re-dedicated itself to making diversity, equity, and inclusivity an intrinsic value through the desire to foster a multicultural and multiethnic atmosphere in the School, giving children a sense of the real world.”

The Ramans give credit for their children’s achievements to Kinkaid and particularly a few outstanding teachers.

“Mr. Germann fostered a love of history and curiosity, Mr. Thames encouraged a love of writing, and Ms. Filippone lovingly cultivated grit and perseverance.”

Dr. Lavannya Pandit is an associate professor of medicine and pulmonologist at Baylor College of Medicine and is a current Kinkaid parent of Suraj ’21, Sanjna ’24, and future Falcon Sanvi ’29. Lavannya is on the DEI Council and is chairperson of the Health and Wellness Parent Education Committee for the Parents Association.

After serving as U.S. Associate Deputy Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice, Sujit is in private law practice in Washington, D.C., and was awarded Kinkaid’s 2018 Distinguished Young Alumni Award.

Although the Ramans are retired now, they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren, traveling, gardening, and reading. Recently, they returned from an adventurous trip to Antarctica. Viji plays tennis daily and is active at Daya, a local nonprofit helping survivors of domestic violence, especially among South Asians, which she co-founded in1996. She was awarded the community service award in 2017 by the Indo-American charity foundation.

Dr. Raman recently wrote a book, From The Land Of Spice To The Land Of Oil, which tells the family’s story as immigrants to the U.S. and abroad.

“It is our duty to pay back to the society to which we owe so much. We cannot think of a better place than Kinkaid to practice this. So, it has been our proud privilege to make Kinkaid one of the beneficiaries of our estate,” they said.

Kinkaid is deeply appreciative of the many ways the Ramans serve our community and our school. To learn how you, too, can support Kinkaid’s future educational excellence and high-quality facilities with a gift in your estate plan, contact Lisa Wood at (713) 243-5023 or lisa.wood@kinkaid.org.