Making Space for Self-Expression: Creative Writers Thrive at MCPHS

A student and a faculty member were recognized for their poetry, exemplifying how healthcare and life sciences studies co-exist with the humanities.

For Rudra Patel, writing is freeing. When he works on poems or short stories, he gives his brain a break from the intensity of his studies as a Pharmacology & Toxicology student.

“It’s a way to escape and keep me grounded,” said Patel, BS ’26. “It allows me to breathe and let loose.”

So, when he saw he could take a Creative Writing course at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), he immediately enrolled. Mary Buchinger Bodwell, PhD, who teaches the class, has also prioritized writing.

“It has always been a deep and significant part of my life, but I didn’t see it as a form of scholarship until after I came to MCPHS,” she explained. She has now published seven poetry collections and writes daily.

This year, Patel and Dr. Bodwell received recognition for their poetry. Dr. Bodwell’s book “Navigating the Reach” is on the poetry longlist for the 24^th Massachusetts Book Awards. She nominated Patel to represent MCPHS at the Worcester County Poetry Association’s annual College Poetry Contest, and his recitation of his poem “The Temple” received Honorable Mention for the Etheridge Knight Performance Prize.

“I nominate a student for this competition every year,” Dr. Bodwell said. “Rudra has a lot of charisma and energy, and I knew he would be terrific in front of an audience.”

Patel remembers being nervous. “I’d never shared my work on a public stage,” he said. “When they announced my name for the award, I went a little numb. But I didn’t put myself out there to win anything. I’m counting my victories with my improvements.”

Patel started writing as a middle schooler in India. His work was published in his boarding school’s annual magazine, and his short stories won awards in competitions.

“I never considered pursuing writing as a career because it’s just something I enjoy,” he explained. “I want to be a doctor.” Patel came to MCPHS to study healthcare and begin his journey to medical school with a strong background in medications and how they work.

Dr. Bodwell sees many students who are dedicated to their scientific studies. As a Professor of English and Communications, her mission is to help them experience the power of self-expression.

“My writing class is a community of learners, so students write for each other,” she said. “Once they start to see other students explore and experiment in their writing, they become more comfortable with being more vulnerable. The practice of writing and sharing work becomes a scaffold for deeper connection and meaning not just in my class but in all their studies."

When Patel took the course, he was one of the students who encouraged his classmates to open up and express themselves.

“His work is interesting because of its focus on religious settings and on intimate relationships within them,” Dr. Bodwell said. “There’s a lot of passion in his work, and I pushed him to read and learn from contemporary poetry.”

Patel’s poem “The Temple” is inspired by a temple near his childhood home where women go to pray. The poem is about a prayer for a boy, reading in part: