Episode 55 – For the past several years Oklahoma City has had a Mexican Independence Day celebration held in various locations. Robert Ruiz, President of Scissortail Community Development Corporation, has been one of the key organizers.
We talk about the development of the celebration and its meaning to local residents of Mexican descent who make up the largest portion of Hispanic culture in OKC.
Mexican Independence Day is celebrated by the solemn ringing of a ceremonial bell on Sept. 16, the day in 1810 when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, read his Grito de Dolores, or “Cry of Dolores,” a revolutionary declaration that launched the Mexican War of Independence by natives of Mexico against their Spanish masters of 300 years. You can read more about it HERE.

Robert Ruiz – Strengthening Hispanic culture in OKC

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Episode 60 – To have spent decades working both in front of the camera and behind it is what we talk about in this episode. Viewers in the Oklahoma Cit market have seen Dee’s name in credits here for many years now. Today, she is in her second decade of being a freelance producer of a wide variety of TV news and entertainment shows from many different networks. We also talk about what it means to be in that business as a woman.

Dee Morales, Working both sides of the camera

Episode 59 – Two aspects of Little Flower Church set the congregation and ministry apart from the rest of Catholic Churches in the Oklahoma City metro: First, they are and have been the key Catholic Parish in OKC that is focussed on the city’s Hispanic culture since their founding in 1922 at SW 10th Street and Walker. Second, the church was founded by a branch of the Carmelite order – Discalced (literally “shoeless”) Carmelites. The house of friars and nuns at Little Flower is still a vibrant part of the order. We talk about the history of Little Flower church and current unique outreach in their part of the city.

Fr. Jorge Cabrera – Little Flower Catholic Church

Episode 58 – Susan Moring sees the potential in working hard to build support for Oklahoma’s code developer boot camp called OK Coders. She doesn’t write code herself, but uses her organizational skills to put together a very popular and affordable boot camp in Oklahoma. The benefits to startups in Oklahoma are many. Rather than having to lure code developers in from another city, why not grow your own?
Read the companion story on the January OK Coders boot camps in Oklahoma City Free Press.

Susan Moring on OK Coders boot camp

Episode 57 – Aspasia Carlson is in her seventh year as principal of John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City Public Schools.
Carlson explains some of her background and how that prepared her for leadership at John Marshall. She also talks about some of the deeper understandings of teachers and students that only long-term leadership can achieve.
See the corresponding story in Oklahoma City Free Press about the roll out of new Internet hot spot devices on Thursday, Dec. 1. The move is only one of many aspects of being a school that serves students from families who struggle to make ends meet.

Aspasia Carlson – Principal, trust-builder

Bonus Episode 56 – From the same interview session as episode 55, Robert talks about the importance of Mariachi music in OKC for Hispanic children. He has been instrumental in getting Mariachi music taught in Oklahoma City Public Schools. In just the next year after three popular programs were started, two had to be eliminated due to state budget cuts to the district. Robert tells us about a new organization and its money-raising efforts to fill the gap.

Robert Ruiz – Strengthening Hispanic culture in OKC

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