Saying Goodbye to Manish Khandelwal

Today, we bid goodbye to our friend and colleague, Manish Khandelwal. Manish, his wife, Yashika and his parents perished in a car accident in September while on holiday in India.

“He was an awesome coworker, a great guy and a good buddy,” shared SHP Director of Engineering, mentor and friend, Jacob Faiola. “He was genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

Manish grew up in Ajmer, a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Institute of Technology at Nirma University. He then earned a master’s degree from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. His shared connection with Jacob—who worked with him in a previous role in Indianapolis—eventually led him to SHP in 2017.

While Manish would go on to work remotely for SHP in India and Dubai, his professional life was dedicated to the Ohio Valley region. The experienced engineer was skilled at designing HVAC systems for SHP’s education clients. Recent projects included Greenon K-12, Mt. Healthy Early Learning Center, as well as the primary school and intermediate school in Fairborn.

“Even though he was located halfway around the world, his impact could be felt here locally,” explained Jacob.

According to Jacob, Manish was one of those rare souls whose kindness, lightness and gentleness could brighten any room. He will be remembered for his team-player mentality, calming presence and immense love of animals. (When asked what he’d do if money was no object, his answer was always, “Help animals!” He was known to care for strays as if they were family pets!)

His legacy will also live on in his young daughter, Kia. A GoFundMe account has been set up to support her ongoing medical treatment.

“There’s no way we could ever fill that hole again; there’s no replacement, no substitute,” Jacob said. “We’ll always remember him and wish things were different.”