Looking Forward After Black History Month: Angela Daniel

In collaboration with the BlackPembroke working group, throughout October we shared stories from across the College community.

Angela Daniel (2017, MSc Major Programme Management) is an Alumni Ambassador for Pembroke and Chair of the College’s BlackPembroke group. To conclude our BlackPembroke Stories series, Angela shares the impact of her time at Pembroke on her career, her recent work with BlackPembroke, and her thoughts on increasing diversity and inclusion in Oxford.

Tell us about your time at Pembroke and what brought you here?

I studied an MSc in Major Programme Management. I fell in love with the grounds of Pembroke and its proximity to the town centre as well as to the Business School.

The highlight of my time at Pembroke was really the dinners with fellow Pembrokians on my course.

Tell us about your career since graduating.

I had already started building my career as an accountant before my Masters programme. It was actually my work that really pushed me to look into a Masters in Major Programme Management. I have to say that the scope of opportunities has definitely become broader. Perhaps I should say that my view of the world changed – after my final lecture I was left with one thought: “what would I want to be remembered for?”

With that thought came the boldness to pursue something I had always wanted to – working with organisations with social impact initiatives. Today I am still working within the financial services sector and am also a board member for a large organisation with a social purpose.

Tell us about BlackPembroke: How did it start, what are the aims of the group?

I have always been passionate about diversity & inclusion. I recall speaking to Andrew Mitchell (Director of Alumni Relations at Pembroke) who was building the Alumni Ambassador network. It was around the same time as the death of George Floyd and the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, which was a real wake-up moment for me. My conversation with Andrew about the Ambassador network led onto other matters around diversity – I was just hooked on the idea of creating opportunities for those who can’t seem to get them through no fault of their own. I guess the rest is history!

BlackPembroke aims to focus specifically on the experience and challenges of Black students, both prospective and existing. For prospective students, we want to understand the challenges these young people face and why they are put off applying to Oxford, and to work with the College to find ways to support them. For current students, it’s about creating a safe space; making them feel they are being listened to; understanding their challenges; and ensuring that they know how to get support.

Ultimately, we want Black students to leave Pembroke feeling equipped and we hope that their experience might in turn serve prospective applicants. 

What do you see as the biggest challenge for Colleges in increasing diversity and inclusivity?

I think this has to be tackled in two parts: the student and the community. For the student, I think the biggest challenge is the point of intervention to increase diversity. Many colleges try to intervene while students are in secondary school. The issue here is that we’ve already lost bright, talented individuals who, due to a lack of early intervention, have ended up behind academically, or completely out of the academic system – leaving colleges with a smaller pool of students to work with. This is compounded by a lack of understanding of the minority community and their lived experience, which may work against some students at the interview stage. Intervention has to be early – which means colleges must be speaking out and challenging the government on social welfare reforms and education.

For the College community, it’s about investing in academics from minority groups. It’s encouraging when you walk into an environment, for example on an Open Day, and see people who look like you. As the saying goes, ‘tiny drops make an ocean’ – we can start from little.

What are your hopes for the future of the Pembroke community?

Pembroke is on the right track. I have to say that the College has a lot to be proud of, with appointments of academics from minority groups and efforts being made to make current students feel safe. The College also continues to work deliberately to attract talented students to apply – my optimistic self thinks the only way is up!

What do you hope to see from BlackPembroke in the next few years?

I hope that BlackPembroke will one day be in a position to have its own scholars program that focuses on early intervention in the lives of young Black Talents.

Do you have any advice for current Pembroke students?

Don't be too hard on yourself! Work hard and enjoy your time at Pembroke as students, and remember to start networking early. It really will pay off in the longer term no matter what your career path is.

We are committed to sharing and celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of Black members of the Pembroke community. To mark Black History Month, we invited Black students, academics, staff and alumni to give an insight into their research, careers, interests and stories. If you would like to be involved in future projects, please get in touch.

Click here for more Black History Month news and events and to find out how you can get involved.