Reclaiming Agency: Courtney Koopman on Personal Branding, Youth Employability and the Politics of Belonging​

Between scrolling through perfect lives and social crises on social media, navigating the job market, adulting and facing the everyday pressures of life in South Africa, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking your value as a person depends on a job title or paycheck. The truth is, your worth is already built-in. You don’t need a corporate label, 100 000 followers, or anyone else’s validation to prove that you matter.

Courtney Koopman, Course Designer and Facilitator at Lucha Lunako, has a reminder for you: You are not helpless. You are not worthless. Your story is your power. True resilience is about cultivating self-awareness, building intentional community and taking radical ownership of one’s agency.

Foundations: Early lessons of diligence, resilience and integrity

Koopman’s foundation in political clarity and community-building was forged early in life through her upbringing. Having often moved across Cape Town and Johannesburg, she was exposed to diverse cultures and socio-economic realities, which cultivated deep empathy and taught her to adapt quickly. In high school, she was an Allan Grey scholarship recipient, which gave her the opportunity to attend a private boarding school in the Eastern Cape.

Living away from home as a teenager came with circumstantial and institutional hurdles. From dealing with racialised microaggressions to facing pushback for her political views, Courtney had to repeatedly choose between conformity and integrity. By the time she reached matric, she had left a mark on the institution: challenging transformation structures and creating safer pathways for students of colour who followed her.

“I really had to dig deep and constantly ask myself: who are you? Do I value integrity or do I value fitting in? Do I value what I know to be true for myself, or do I suck it up for the sake of being part of the group?”

After high school, Courtney received a scholarship to go to Australia to coach and work in schools for a year. During this time, she also engaged with local indigenous communities and ways to exchange with her own. She received a scholarship to study Political Science and Gender Studies at UCT, where she was also working three part-time jobs to support at home, as well as an entrepreneurship course. All the while, participating in the youth activist movement #RhodesMustFall, leading to #FeesMustFall.

Once she finished her Honours at UCT, she was offered a position as Narrative Specialist within a team of consultants from various backgrounds organised to address complex transformation challenges. She worked with government, corporate and non-profits, broadening her experience and skill set, opening more opportunities in her career.

Courtney was awarded the Chevening scholarship to study her Master’s in Futures Education at Edinburgh. Upon her return, she spotted the opportunity to interview as a Facilitator at Lucha Lunako. Due to her vast experience, she secured another role as Course Developer, co-creating some of Lucha Lunako’s accredited programmes.

Courtney’s dynamic journey shows us that every opportunity is a stepping stone for the next. Grab any opportunity given and run with it.

Reclaiming the Personal Brand: Beyond Masking and Performance
For Courtney, your personal brand is about reclaiming personhood.

“Your personal brand is your ‘you-ness.’ It’s the thing that makes you in the world from a place of grounded confidence and awareness, not from a place of projection, performance, or masking. First and foremost, I am human. Second to that, I am a creator, meaning I can transfer my capacity to create in any direction of my life, whether in my work, relationships, craft, or mindset.”

Courtney encourages young professionals to see that their value is not tied solely to a specific job title.