With the application season underway, we asked Jorie Fawcett, Zhengkun (ZK) Gao, and Emmanuel Ojengwa, members of the 2025–2026 ELOE cohort, to reflect on their journeys and share what courage, leadership, and transformation mean to them as they prepare to lead in education.
Jorie Fawcett (she/her)
In “The Lord of the Rings,” J.R.R. Tolkien’s wrote that “courage is found in unlikely places.” I can’t say that I am the biggest “Lord of the Rings” fan, but this quote came to me during a particularly challenging time in my undergraduate studies. Now, it serves as my guiding light as a student in HGSE.
Applying to HGSE took a lot of courage. I was finishing up my undergraduate degree in a teacher licensure program. I decided I did not want to be a classroom teacher anymore but instead saw myself working in higher education. In my admissions essay, I wrote about my experience growing up in a small town as a first-generation college student — that required a lot of courage. I moved to Boston into an apartment I had never seen before — that required a lot of courage. I started forming friendships with a lot of my classmates that were 5+ years older than me — that required a lot of courage.
Being an educator in the 21st century requires a lot of courage. Constant news headlines affecting educators and our students can be frightening. I chose the ELOE program at HGSE because of their commitment and dedication to the next generation of educators and education as a whole. ELOE gives us the tools to be both leaders and learners, make changes, and manage them. Education is an ever-changing landscape. As my own career goals changed during my time in my undergraduate studies, I wanted a program that was centered around equity-focused organizations that moved with the complex and changing learning landscapes.
While applying to graduate programs, I wanted the flexibility to take classes that simply interested me, in addition to classes specifically about higher education and student affairs. I found that flexibility in the ELOE program. The curriculum gives us a scaffolded learning opportunity — we gain the skills necessary to be leaders in our chosen landscapes while unlocking passion that might be less central to our educational goals.
It takes a lot of courage to be an educational leader. I know that I’ve found my courage in the most unlikely places since arriving at HGSE. During our orientation, we learned that the range of career experience is 0-30 years. I sat there thinking “well I guess I am the person with 0 years of experience…” This fact did not defer me and rather gave me a boost of courage.
As an ELOE student, don’t run away when you feel a little uneasy. Go headfirst, find your courage, and maybe you’ll even learn to change the world.
Zhengkun (ZK) Gao (he/him)
As a seasoned entrepreneur with over a decade of experience across Singapore, Southeast Asia, and China, I deeply value this rare opportunity to return to school and transform myself through learning. After years of leading ventures in media and education, I realized that to create more meaningful impact, I needed to pause, reflect, and reimagine my leadership. The Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship (ELOE) Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) offered exactly that, a place to grow as a learner, a leader, and a changemaker.
What makes ELOE truly remarkable is its flexibility and learner-centered design. Beyond the foundation and concentration courses, the program gives me the freedom to tailor my own pathway, selecting courses across Harvard and even MIT that align with my interests and goals. This ability to cross-register and learn from diverse schools, ranging from education and public policy to business and technology, has been invaluable. It allows each of us to create a unique and personalized journey that matches our passions and professional aspirations.
One of the most transformative courses I’ve taken so far is Public Narrative. Rather than focusing on leadership theories, it immerses us in the practice of authentic communication, learning how to inspire, motivate, and mobilize people toward collective action. The process of crafting and sharing my own stories helped me rediscover my purpose as a leader and taught me how to connect emotionally with others in ways that drive real change.
Classroom experiences at HGSE are unlike any I’ve encountered before. Professors here don’t simply lecture, they invite us to lead. Each session is dynamic and participatory, filled with group discussions, peer activities, and role plays that bring theory to life. Every voice is heard, every perspective valued. This interactive learning approach has deepened my understanding of collaboration, empathy, and innovation in leadership.
Equally enriching is the incredible diversity within the ELOE community. I’ve met classmates from over 30 countries, each bringing unique insights, professional experiences, and cultural perspectives. The learning continues long after class ends, through informal conversations, team projects, and shared reflections that broaden my worldview and sharpen my understanding of global education challenges.
Beyond the classroom, HGSE offers a wealth of resources to support our growth. From clubs and initiatives to advisory programs, there are endless opportunities to deepen my knowledge in education, technology, and entrepreneurship. I’ve benefited tremendously from one-on-one sessions with advisors at the Harvard i-Lab, who visit HGSE weekly to guide student founders. These mentoring conversations have helped me refine my ideas and explore how to apply cutting-edge innovations, like AI in education, to improve learning outcomes and equity.
Today, I am actively applying what I learn at HGSE to drive impactful change within my own organization, while also exploring the creation of a new AI-powered EdTech venture. My journey at ELOE has been nothing short of transformative, an empowering process of reflection, growth, and renewal.
Emmanuel Ojengwa (he/him)
I often say that my journey to Harvard began long before I ever entered a classroom. I grew up in an agrarian community in Enugu State, Nigeria, a town known for its bustling commercial agriculture and unshakable communal spirit. My childhood was shaped by the rhythm of nature, surrounded by a population of people: planting rice, cassava, and yams; tending to fish ponds and poultry farms; and extracting vitamin-rich palm oil from fruit. I helped my parents in our own farms myself. Those early experiences taught me patience, hard work, and an appreciation for growth, lessons that later shaped my nurturing approach as a teacher and leader. My life has always been a balance between nature and nurture, between cultivating the land and cultivating minds.
As an undergraduate student, I discovered that my true passion lay in teaching and bridging educational inequities. I volunteered to teach Chemistry and Biology in under-resourced secondary schools across Enugu and established tutorial centers to help exam-bound students succeed. Each chalk-stained lesson reminded me that education is one of the most powerful tools for social mobility. Post-undergrad, that conviction guided me to earn a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and a Master’s degree in Science Education (Chemistry Education) at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where my thesis “graded A”, evaluated how effectively Nigeria’s Senior Secondary School Chemistry Curriculum was being implemented.
Leadership has been a defining thread throughout my journey. I served as Senior Prefect (the highest student leadership position) in my co-educational secondary school, later became President of my town’s undergraduate students’ association, and during my five years teaching Chemistry in Abuja’s Federal Capital Territory, I rose to Head of Science Department. Today, I continue that commitment as President of my high school alumni association and Vice President for Alumni and Career Affairs in the African Student Organization at HGSE. My passion for leadership runs deeper than titles, it’s about addressing the leadership gap that fuels the disconnect between policy and practice in Nigeria’s education system. I see leadership as both a privilege and a responsibility: to bridge divides, empower others, and build coherent systems that work for all.
In 2020, I received the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship, one of Nigeria’s most competitive national awards for teachers. I first completed a rigorous teacher training program at a national university in Japan, where I studied pedagogy, curriculum design, and cross-cultural education. Afterwards, I taught English as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in elementary, junior high, and senior high schools across three Prefectures in Japan. Living and teaching in Japan profoundly reshaped my worldview. I experienced an education system renowned for discipline and structure while carrying with me the improvisational creativity born from teaching in under-resourced Nigerian classrooms. That intersection of structure and adaptability became a guiding philosophy in my professional life — proof that global learning thrives on both rigor and empathy.
When I discovered the Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship (ELOE) program at HGSE, it felt like a natural continuation of my journey. The program’s unique integration of leadership, innovation, and social impact matched perfectly with my vision to build a multimillion-naira educational enterprise in Nigeria that will scale quality tutoring and STEM education to reach over ten million learners across Africa. I wanted not only to teach, but to lead systemic change.
Every day at HGSE feels like an intellectual harvest. The constructivist classroom culture here has allowed me to engage in deep, problem-solving discussions with peers from every corner of the world. In courses like A608: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Learning, T565: Entrepreneurship in the Education Marketplace, A801: Education Policy Analysis and Research in Comparative perspective, A855: Education and International development-Policy and Practice, and LCH 101: Leading Change, I’ve learned to connect theory to real-world leadership. One of my most meaningful experiences has been How People Learn, where I designed a culturally responsive Chemistry curriculum titled “Bringing Chemistry Home”, an initiative that draws on local Nigerian practices and materials to make science relatable.
Beyond the classroom, my learning continues through friendships and collaborations that extend well beyond national boundaries. Conversations over coffee often become case studies in empathy, leadership, and innovation. As part of my team’s MathMe Project, I have contributed to research on scaling equitable learning solutions, an experience that reflects the collaborative spirit HGSE is known for.
For me, Harvard is not just a destination, it’s a bridge. It connects the boy who once taught Chemistry and worked under flickering lights in Enugu to the man now building models for educational transformation at one of the world’s greatest institutions. Each day, I’m reminded that leadership is not about titles or positions, it’s about service, empathy, and courage to act on what you believe can change lives. My story is one of transformation and purpose. I have learned that whether nurturing crops or nurturing learners, growth takes time, intention, and care. And leadership, like farming, is not about immediate results, it’s about planting seeds of change that others will one day harvest.
To anyone considering the ELOE program, my advice is simple: bring your story, your questions, and your dreams. HGSE is a place where authenticity meets ambition, and where diverse experiences find shared purpose. If you’re ready to cultivate ideas that can change lives, then, like me, you’ll find that your journey, no matter how unlikely, can lead you right here.
HGSE Admissions Blog 