NW Valley Times

The Varkey brothers, Philip, Thomas, and John, were academic standouts during their time at Grand Canyon University (GCU). Thomas is now a neurologist, while Philip and John, who earned electrical engineering degrees, are pursuing doctoral programs.

Their educational journey began with 12 years of home schooling under the guidance of their mother. The Peoria, Arizona natives grew up in a biracial household with their stay-at-home mom Rhonda from the United States and their father Thomas from India. Their parents emphasized academic success.

“My dad used to always tell us there are two main things you have to live by in your life,” John said. “Always work hard, and the only people who are going to be there for you at the very end are your brothers.”

Philip recalled their upbringing: “We never played a lot of video games but played math games instead. None of us were really good at sports. Instead of attending different events like most high schoolers, it was about studying and working hard because that is your future.”

Their mother’s teaching philosophy also played a crucial role in shaping their academic discipline. “She would say, ‘You are now in high school and going to college soon. I am not going to focus so much on teaching you; you teach yourself,’” Philip said.

At GCU, they encountered traditional schooling for the first time. “First day of classes freshman year was the scariest one,” Philip noted.

Thomas Varkey graduated from GCU in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in biology with a pre-medicine emphasis and later earned an MBA in 2018. He has been involved extensively at GCU as an instructor's assistant and later as an instructor himself since 2023. He holds both doctor of medicine and master of education degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and currently works as a neurologist at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix.

John Varkey graduated from GCU in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering followed by a master’s degree from Notre Dame. He is now enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Texas A&M University focusing on hardware neural networks.

Philip Varkey graduated from GCU in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and is pursuing joint master’s and Ph.D. programs at Texas A&M University focusing on neuromorphic computing.

Reflecting on their journey together through academia, Thomas shared: “One of the fondest memories I have from college is us three brothers studying in the GCU Honors College lounge... Just having a good old time.”