NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Aniesh Patel, a 22-year old fourth-year Rutgers pharmacy student died on January 13, one week before he was set to return to campus for another semester.

Aniesh Patel was a graduate of Methacton High School in Lower Providence, Pennsylvania.  At Rutgers University, Patel was completing his fourth year as a pharmacy student in a five-year program at the Rutgers Ernesto Mario School of Pharmacy.

A friend told the Daily Targum that he died unexpectedly, but the specific cause of death has been withheld from the public at his family’s request.

The friend said Patel was “a very kind, considerate” person who put his friends first, and loved to watch movies.

“He was such a bright personality to have in the room,” Diana Destin told the Targum.  “And looking back talking about him, it was all positivity — that’s all that surrounded him, really.”

Patel’s death marks at least the eighth death of a Rutgers student since September.

Since September, the following Rutgers students passed away: Caitlyn Kovacs, Darsh Patel, Paul J. Kim, Neha Musipatla, Michael Murray, Billy Roy Ouch, and Maneesha Singh.