Breaking the Mould
The 4th instalment of ‘100 years of Oxford’s amazing women’.
Women have made an enormous difference to the University since they first took degrees 100 years ago. Today we hear about two amazing women who are still very much at the forefront of change. A third year undergraduate, Esther completely turns on its head the idea of a stereotypical ‘Oxford’ student, and Clare is a ground-breaking professor, curator and fellow who challenges anyone’s idea of an ‘Oxford academic’.
The Third Year student
Esther Agbolade, Third Year PPE Student
Most people are just normal
Esther is doing one of the most competitive courses in the university at Oriel, one of the most historic colleges. But the young black Londoner confounds stereotypes about who and what makes an Oxford student.
When she came to Oxford for a taster day, she says, she didn’t see many people like her. Undeterred, Esther decided Oxford is where she should be. She wanted the opportunities offered by a university such as Oxford, and she says: ‘You have to do things, to make a difference. Change comes from people on the ground.’
Esther is now on a mission to help others. Although she has thrown herself into university life, leading the African and Caribbean Society and working hard, she has also given time to mentor young people. She does not think everyone should apply to Oxford or even university. But Esther hopes to inspire people to follow their dreams — and not be bound by stereotypes. Before she came to Oxford, Esther admits she had stereotypes in mind.
‘Whilst some are true,’ she says. ‘Most people are ‘just normal’.’
Like many students, she has suffered from ‘imposter syndrome’, thinking she wasn’t good enough. But being at Oxford has given her confidence to believe she does belong. And she is full of enthusiasm to see more students from under represented backgrounds taking their place in the university and a new scholarship aimed at black students.
Esther is soon heading off to a career in private equity — confounding more expectations. But she is determined to carry on mentoring. You only have to meet her to know that, one day, you will read about Esther Agbolade.
The can-do curator/professor
Professor Clare Harris, Anthropologist and Curator
Be brave, be creative, be yourself
Professor Clare Harris puts the ‘can’ into can-do and, actually, she puts in the ‘do’ as well. The Oxford professor, expert in anthropology and a curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum is also a fellow of Magdalen College and of the British Academy. ‘It’s an unusual role,’ she says modestly. ‘Being an academic in the School of Anthropology and also a Curator.’
Clare’s journey to Oxford actually began in India, where she went alone as an 18-year-old, to work as a volunteer teacher in a Tibetan refugee camp.
‘I met the Dalai Lama’s niece and asked if I could help. It was a life-changing experience,’ Clare says, which triggered her passion for anthropology and Tibetan culture. Although she was the first in her family to go to university, it eventually led her to Oxford, via the School of Oriental and African Studies, where she took her doctorate.
‘I met an older generation of artists [in the refugee camps], who were trying to recover the traditions of Tibetan art,’ she says. ‘It became the subject of my PhD.’
In her role at the Pitt Rivers, Clare champions the work of young artists and particularly of women. ‘I try to be a good role model,’ says Clare, who seems not to realise she is the very embodiment of a role model.
She adds: ‘The majority of my students are female, but barriers remain. They may not be visible but they are there.’
One of her proudest moments came recently when a former student, whom she had championed to be given an undergraduate place, turned out to be a successful soul singer. ‘We need to foster diversity of all kinds in the university and enable everyone to flourish,’ says Clare.
What next?
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