Shivangi Chopra, a Master in Public Administration in International Development candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, spent this past winter in New Delhi, India, designing and implementing a culturally sensitive breast cancer awareness curriculum for adolescent girls in government schools. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Indian women, yet fewer than 25% of cases are detected early—significantly lowering survival rates. Through her student grant project, Shivangi launched “PinnkEd,” an initiative aimed at improving early detection through education and information. She recently shared insights from her experience and what she learned along the way.
Mittal Institute: What were your goals with your student grant, and why did you pursue this project/location?
Shivangi Chopra: The primary goal of my project, PinnkEd, was to design and pilot a breast cancer awareness program targeting adolescent girls (ages 13-17) in Indian public schools. This program had two aims: to spread awareness among children, and to foster intra-household transmission of awareness.
Shivangi Chopra presents her PinnkEd Breast Cancer Awareness program.
Mittal Institute: What was most impactful about this experience?
Shivangi Chopra: The most impactful aspect of this project was witnessing young girls finding their voice to discuss breast health – a topic often shrouded in silence in Indian households. During our awareness sessions, watching these adolescent girls overcome their initial hesitation and openly ask questions about breast health was profoundly moving. Many shared that they had never had a safe space to discuss these concerns before. Seeing them transform from hesitant participants to engaged learners who planned to share their knowledge with mothers and grandmothers demonstrated the true power of education in breaking intergenerational silence around breast health.
“During our awareness sessions, watching these adolescent girls overcome their initial hesitation and openly ask questions about breast health was profoundly moving.”
Mittal Institute: Bring us into your daily life during your grant? What was it like? Who were you meeting? What institutions were you visiting?
Shivangi Chopra: My daily work constantly evolved as the project took shape. It involved collaborating with a diverse network of stakeholders to develop and deliver the session. Initially, I spent significant time consulting with oncologists to ensure medical accuracy, meeting with educators to optimize the content for adolescent understanding, with administrators to finalize logistics and working alongside designers and content creators to create Audio-Visual tools for the session.
I particularly wish to thank Dr. S.K. Dabas, Chairman (oncology) and Dr. Farheen Khan, Specialist (Endocrine & breast oncosurgery) from BLK-Max Hospital, Delhi and Ms. Veditha Reddy, Director (Education), Govt. of NCT of Delhi for supporting the endeavor. While conducting the logistics pilot in three schools, my work involved managing on-site logistics and coordination with administration, besides interacting with students while conducting the session alongside Dr. Khan who answered students’ questions.
Mittal Institute: How will this experience help you to reach your academic goals?
Shivangi Chopra: This project is also my Second Year Policy Analysis and has been instrumental in applying the theoretical frameworks from my MPA/ID program at Harvard Kennedy School to real-world public health challenges. Working under the guidance of Professor Marcella Alsan and Professor Rema Hanna has deepened my understanding of how to design and evaluate effective policy interventions. The experience of developing an evidence-based program and planning for a logistics pilot has strengthened my research skills and prepared me for future work in public policy and health advocacy.
Mittal Institute: What’s the most memorable moment from your time on the student grant?
Shivangi Chopra: My most memorable moment came after an awareness session at one of the public schools. While many students were eager to learn about Harvard and were asking questions, what truly touched my heart was when a young girl approached me afterward with a paper flower she had crafted. She thanked me for the session and shared how she too would like to go to Harvard one day. That simple gesture – the carefully folded paper flower and her sincere words – reminded me that this project wasn’t just about health education; it was also about inspiring young girls to be ambitious while creating positive change in their communities.
☆ The views represented herein are those of the interview subjects and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mittal Institute, its staff, or its Steering Committee.