Priyanjali Ghosh ’09

Priyanjali “Priya” Ghosh ’09 still remembers the opening session of Biology 200: How Organisms Develop with Rachel Fink, who is the Ida and Marion Van Natta Professor of Biological Sciences at Mount Holyoke College. In the basement auditorium of Clapp Laboratory, Priya watched in awe as Fink filled the massive chalkboards with colorful schematics.

“From one end of the room to the other, she showed how we go from a single cell to an entire organism,” Priya said. That class sparked a passion that ultimately led Priya to pursue a Ph.D. in developmental biology.

Much like cells come together to create something extraordinary, Priya’s time at Mount Holyoke shaped her into the person she is today. Arriving at the College after a sheltered childhood in India, she initially felt shy and insecure. But professors including Fink, Stan Rachootin and Sarah Bacon in the biological sciences department, and Joyce Devlin in what was then known as the theater arts department, saw Priya’s strengths, supported her academic drive and encouraged her to hone her voice.

A theater arts minor allowed Priya to further emerge from her shell and find connection with others. “Four years in this environment had a seismic shift on my personality,” Priya said. 

Priya has since used her voice to great effect. Today, she is a senior scientist at the biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx, where she engineers viruses for use in gene therapy treatments for rare genetic diseases. Prior to that, she was a visiting assistant professor at UMass Amherst, teaching courses in scientific writing, developmental biology, neurobiology and physiology. In addition, Priya serves on her class’s executive board through the Alum Association of Mount Holyoke College. 

Priya has found that the faculty’s spirit of care and commitment extends to her classmates, many of whom have become like family. “I was always surrounded by people who wanted to do more and do better. Whatever paths we have chosen, we live with great purpose, with a strong sense of work ethic and really caring about what we do.” She has enjoyed reconnecting with classmates at Mount Holyoke reunions and celebrating the impact that they continue to make on the world.

Knowing how profoundly the College had shaped her life, Priya made what she calls an obvious choice — to include a gift to Mount Holyoke in her will and become a member of the Mary Lyon Society. “Mount Holyoke provided me with a world-class education that has allowed me to be successful. I want to foster that sense of confidence and purpose in future generations.” In the meantime, Priya supports The Mount Holyoke Fund each year, recognizing that every dollar matters in sustaining the College’s mission.

In reflecting on how Mount Holyoke helped her to grow as a leader, Priya thinks back to Fink’s chalkboards in Clapp Laboratory, the stage in the Rooke Theatre and the art of storytelling that she learned in these spaces. “How do you have a conversation? How do you keep someone engaged in the story — someone who may be sitting in the dark whom you may never see?” As a Mary Lyon Society member, Priya is engaging with generations of Mount Holyoke students whom she’ll never know but whose lives she will undoubtedly touch through her generosity.