Fireside Chat with Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman: Thoughts on Self-Advocacy

I recently got the chance to attend a fireside chat with Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, PhD student at Harvard Kennedy School and editor of The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System.

What stood out most to me was how real she was about the workplace. She shared her experience negotiating her first salary and reminded us how important it is—especially for Black women—to have advocates in the room. She didn’t shy away from naming things either: hair discrimination as a proxy for racism, the hidden costs of “presentability,” and how accountability (not just benevolence) is what leads to lasting change.

For students thinking about their next steps, her advice was practical and doable—build relationships with professors and the career center, “network across” (shoutout to Issa Rae), and show up to conferences because you never know what could happen. I also appreciated her honesty in sharing that her parents wanted her to do pre-med, but she eventually pivoted toward economics and policy. Following her own interests opened the door to writing, research, and leadership.

The biggest reminder for me was that college isn’t the end point—it’s just one step in a much longer process of growth. This event connected scholarship, leadership, and lived experience in a way that left me both encouraged and challenged as I think about my own path.

By Chloe Jacobs

Photo caption: A photo I took entering Cosby Auditorium, where the chat was taking place.