Priyanka Ghosh
First-Generation Student Spotlight
What led you to pursue an education?
I grew up in a tiny village in India. My mother, a homemaker, sacrificed a lot to give us a happy, healthy life. From childhood, she taught us that the only way to have a good life was education. In grade 8, I won a district-level speech competition and received books and science magazines as the prize. I made friends from the city on that trip and learned there was a larger world out there. After grade 10, I moved to a nearby town for high school and college. There has been no looking back.
After my first master’s in 2016, I lived and worked in Mumbai. Now I am in Boston, and Northeastern is a memorable milestone in my journey.
What does your family understand about where you are now?
I am the first and only person from my village to study abroad. My father, who barely completed grade 6, did everything he could so my siblings and I had our books. My parents don’t speak a word of English, but they were there when I filled out the application for my first master’s, in English literature.
Some days, on my way to the university, I look out the window of the T, wondering if it is all a dream.
Every time I close my eyes, the tea plantations and rice paddies seem as close as the Prudential building. Life is funny, but it is kind.
Priyanka Ghosh
When did you realize you’d be navigating this without a roadmap?
At my admissions counseling at Siliguri College, I had to go alone. It was peak harvest time, and my parents couldn’t leave the fields. I saw the other students with their parents, discussing degree plans. I am grateful to the parents of my friends, who were kind to me just as they were to their own children. Figuring things out on my own has been challenging, but it has empowered me in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
Was there a moment you felt you didn’t belong?
When I was awarded the Class Topper prize at St. Joseph’s College, Darjeeling, my father couldn’t be there, and I was wearing my mother’s clothes. But classmates who barely spoke to me were clapping and whistling as I walked the stage. That was when I realized how important it is to build a community outside your family. I have carried this lesson always. At Northeastern, I’ve found amazing people and resources like Community Service and Civic Engagement.
Who made the biggest difference?
April Hoyt from NU Student Temps; Jennifer Lea Huer, Assistant Dean at the School of Law and my first supervisor; Dr. Jacques Alexis, my professor and MS in Project Management program director; Jen Christ from the Office of Global Services; and my husband, Devang Patel. My best friend, Simul, helped me start my LinkedIn account, where I found my first corporate job.
How has your relationship with your family changed?
As a child, I was sometimes resentful that my family wasn’t as cool as the city folks. Time has taken away that bitterness. My memories of childhood look pretty and vibrant now. They did the best they could, and I could not have better parents.
What would you tell a first-gen student just starting out?
You are not alone, and you can do it. Keep your head high and keep breathing. Take one day at a time. You don’t know how good it can get, if you just keep going.
Write your own first chapter.
Being the first in your family to earn a degree takes courage, and you don’t have to do it alone. Explore flexible CPS programs built around your life, your work, and your goals.
