news and publications
OppNet’s AiLun Ku on the Need to Foster a Culture of Belonging for Young BIPOC
By Alexis-Brianna Felix
Arriving in the U.S. from Taiwan at age 10, AiLun Ku, president and CEO of non-profit organization The Opportunity Network, knows firsthand how daunting it feels to find and build ‘community’ in an unfamiliar setting. Whether navigating college or an early career, young Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) need educational institutions and employers to help them thrive by providing them with a sense of belonging.
Networking as a First-Generation Student Can Be Hard. Here’s How to Get Started
By AiLun Ku and Ray Reyes
Students from underrepresented communities are often given the advice to “network for better opportunities.” However, the unfortunate reality is that white, more privileged groups continue to control access to the majority of jobs and career opportunities, often through hidden rules of engagement and closed networks that are passed down generationally and tied to wealth or social connections. The authors highlight three paradoxes that hold first-generation students back and how to navigate them.
Alumni Spotlight
When AiLun Ku (MPA 2008) talks about her legacy, she doesn’t focus on her many accomplishments, or the prestige that comes with them. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of relationships and leaving a legacy grounded in kindness.
Interview: It’s Time to Close the Opportunity Gap for Students of Color
by Kelsey Alpaio
AiLun Ku, CEO of The Opportunity Network shares her advice on how students of color can thrive in college and at work — and how their classmates, colleagues, and organizations can help.
The CEO’s Role In Pipeline Equity
By AiLun Ku
As CEOs, our positional power and authority can easily be used to eliminate dissent and to quiet critical voices—which can increase bias. If we want to prevent that, we need to put in the effort.
Lessons for Engaging and Retaining BIPOC Students
By AiLun Ku
How do we attract historically underrepresented groups of students to our institutions—that is, first-generation college students; Black, Indigenous, and other students of color; and students from low-income backgrounds? How do we best serve them at our institutions? How do we retain them and support them to persist and graduate?
How Training Can Tip the Scale of Inclusivity
By AiLun Ku
When training is used as a tool for equity and inclusion, the impact has a multiplier effect—at the individual level, the institutional level, and the systemic level.
Supporting Students of Color: Avenues to achieve postsecondary and career success
By Carl Jackman and AiLun Ku
There is a terrible risk in the misapplication of implicit theories of intelligence—such as “growth mindset” and “grit”—and overemphasizing that individual academic achievement can be solved through motivation and will. When these theories are misapplied to become the dominant narrative, we are more likely to overlook the problematic omission of equity in educational access. The history of systemic exclusion to equitable access to resources, opportunities, and services due to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and English language fluency gets put on the back burner as a passive consideration rather than the driving force for supporting our students to rise to their ambitions.
By AiLun Ku and Ray Reyes
Chapter 17: Networking Skills for Professionals from Underrepresented Backgrounds (Adapted from HBR Guide to Smarter Networking, HBR Press 2022)
The Opportunity Network’s AiLun Ku on the Importance of ‘Unstoppable Learning’
by Anthony Smith
NationSwell spoke to Ku about the road she’s walked along her professional and personal journey, what she and The Opportunity Network have been able to accomplish, and what the future looks like for her and her organization.
This is what she had to say.
3 Tips for Onboarding Managers of Diverse, Thriving Teams
By AiLun Ku
Most of us have heard the management insight that “Employees don’t quit jobs; they quit their managers.” It isn’t hard to imagine why anyone would be compelled to leave a job because of a terrible boss, but being a good manager is easier said than done.
Three-Part Q&A Series with CollegeXpress
Part 1 Q&A: Promoting College Success for Students of Color
Part 2 Q&A: Internship and Career Prep Advice for Students of Color
Part 3 Q&A: All About the Opportunity Gap