Garima Agarwal MPP 2027 knew that Harvard Kennedy School would be out of reach without financial aid. She also knew that her goal—achieving equitable livelihood outcomes for women—would be advanced by the rigorous analytical training offered by HKS. Financial support from generous donors has allowed her to gain the skills she needs while remaining committed to a public service career.
Here, Garima reflects on her journey, motivations, and how HKS is shaping her impact.
Q: Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up? What did you do before coming to HKS?
Garima: Growing up in Uttar Pradesh, India, I earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal. There, I delved into the intersection of design, sociology, and behavioral science, exploring how built environments reinforce social inequities. Before coming to HKS, I was working at the National Institute of Urban Affairs under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. My work focused on driving gender and disability inclusion within national policies through policy research and strategic communication.
Q: What motivated you to apply? Did you have professional challenges or specific problems that HKS could help you tackle?
Garima: I aim to work towards ensuring equitable livelihood outcomes for women, by recognizing and redistributing care work. The HKS curriculum offers a unique blend of interdisciplinary, analytical tools and action-oriented learning I need to bridge the gap between intent and impact.
My previous work experiences strengthened my skills in qualitative analysis. However, they also revealed two critical gaps I need to address: learning to quantify behavioral expressions to pinpoint their underlying drivers, and designing actionable, scalable solutions. HKS’s core curricula also sets me up for a successful policy career by enhancing soft skills like stakeholder engagement and effective communication.
Q: Did financial aid affect your ability to enroll at HKS?
Garima: Financial aid played a decisive role in my journey to Harvard Kennedy School. My parents, both government doctors in public hospitals, instilled in me the drive to commit to a life of public service, recognizing that it is not a career path chosen for monetary gain but for the opportunity to make a difference. Access to subsidized government education has enabled me to come this far; however, my family’s means fall far short of covering the cost of an HKS education. Equally important in my decision-making was my clear intention to continue working in the public sector after graduation, where compensation is modest. Without financial support, pursuing an MPP at HKS would have required compromising this commitment.
Q: How is HKS preparing you for your future work?
Garima: HKS is fundamentally expanding how I think about public problems—both in how they can be approached and which levers can be used to drive change. It has exposed me to the plurality of pathways through which impact can be achieved: public versus private action, research versus implementation, top-down policy design versus bottom-up behavioral interventions. Equally important, HKS is equipping me with a toolkit of policy levers—from industrial and labor policy to behavioral change, institutional design, and incentive structures—allowing me to think more strategically about when and how each is effective. One of the standout highlights has been the faculty and guest speakers, and the peer interactions. Learning from the experiences of so many other accomplished people has been truly invaluable.
