The Colorado Dream: Stories of Coloradans who are overcoming obstacles to create a better life for themselves and their families in an effort to achieve the American Dream.
Season 3: Housing Wanted
Support for Season 3 of The Colorado Dream comes from Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti.
Colorado has a lack of affordable housing, but this crisis has hit mountain resort towns especially hard. One big reason is the impact. From restaurant servers to police officers to local doctors, it’s hard for people — at nearly every income level - to find housing in mountain resort communities. This series investigates the housing challenges facing residents and, perhaps most importantly, what community leaders are doing — or not — to find solutions.
Season 2: Newcomers Welcome
Support for Season 2 of The Colorado Dream comes from Aims Community College.
In Aurora, Colorado about one in five residents is foreign-born. While most come from Mexico, many hail from other parts of the world including thousands from the continent of Africa. The city created a plan called “Aurora is open to the world” and partnered with dozens of organizations that provide services to immigrants and refugees.
But is the plan working?
In season two of The Colorado Dream, join host Stephanie Daniel as she explores the Black immigrant experience in Aurora as told through the eyes of one African immigrant and Aurora as the city – and its residents – strive to become an inclusive home for all.
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Stephanie Daniel/KUNCAurora has a large foreign born population and some of them turn to local ethnic media outlets for news and to stay informed about their home countries. There are over three dozen ethnic media organizations that serve the city and the greater metro Denver area. They are print, digital and broadcast outlets that publish in many different languages including English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese and Polish. -
Stephanie Daniel/KUNCThe Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome Bonus Episode Two explores entrepreneurship within Aurora's immigrant communities. Foreign-born residents have higher rates of entrepreneurship than those born in the U.S. Aurora supports these business owners as part of its immigrant integration plan. -
KUNCKUNC hosted a live community event and panel discussion to talk about the themes explored in The Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome podcast. -
Stephanie Daniel/KUNCThe Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome episode five explores what stands in the way of Aurora being a welcoming home for all immigrants. Also, Salwa Mourtada Bamba achieves one more big milestone. -
Stephanie Daniel/KUNCG-Michael came to the U.S. to go to college in 1995 and then moved to Aurora five years later. She has owned a liquor store and a home health agency. Now, she works as an interpreter for medical and law offices, schools and the community. She also performs Ethiopian coffee ceremonies at events around Aurora, including the city’s annual Global Fest. -
Stephanie Daniel/KUNCThe Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome episode four examines the relationship between Black African immigrants and African Americans. It also shares how Salwa Mourtada Bamba and other Black immigrants in Aurora identify themselves. -
Stephanie Daniel/KUNCThe Colorado Dream: Newcomers Welcome episode three looks at efforts by two educational institutions and some of the unique challenges facing first and second-generation African students. -
Stephanie Daniel/KUNCAurora created an integration plan to help immigrants and refugees succeed. What does that plan look like? Meanwhile, more than 15 years earlier, Salwa Mourtada Bamba gets a job and enrolls at the local community college as she settles into her new life in Aurora. -
Courtesy: Salwa Mourtada BambaThe Black immigrant population in Colorado is growing faster than anywhere else in the U.S. They come from Africa, the Caribbean and beyond, and many settle in Aurora, where about one in five residents is foreign born. A lot of them have overcome great challenges to emigrate here, including Salwa Mourtada Bamba. -
Stephanie Daniel/KUNCIn Aurora, Colorado about one in five residents is foreign born. The city created a plan called “Aurora is open to the world” and partnered with dozens of organizations that provide services to immigrants and refugees. But is the plan helping those most in need?
Season Two Extras
Here are images and charts that show how Aurora has changed in its makeup.
A look at how Aurora has grown since the late 1800s
Season 1: Career Education
Colorado’s workforce is changing. To keep up, adults now need a college degree or other post-secondary training to compete. A lot of work has been done at the state level to help people enroll and finish collegiate programs. But often, career training starts in high school or even earlier.
In season one of The Colorado Dream, join host Stephanie Daniel as she examines how a small Metro Denver school district is using Career and Technical Education - also known as CTE - to give students both the job training and the education to prepare them for future success... whether they go directly into the workforce or attend college after graduation.
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Stephanie Daniel / KUNC“Tomorrow Starts Today,” is the slogan for Westminster High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. The school offers 13 CTE career pathways that are designed to give students both job training and education to prepare them for future success. This episode features current and former students from the aerospace engineering and cybersecurity classes who want to work in some of Colorado’s fastest growing industries. -
Stephanie Daniel / KUNCWestminster, Colorado began as a small farming community when the first settler arrived in 1870. Today, it is the state’s eighth-largest city. Even though it’s part of the sprawling, urban metro Denver area, Westminster has held onto its agricultural roots. There’s still a working farm about three miles from downtown. So it’s not surprising Westminster High School has a robust agriculture program. This episode features the school’s Career and Technical Education agriculture pathway and two students who’ve found success in the urban jungle. -
Stephanie Daniel / KUNCBiomedical Science is the most popular Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway at Westminster High School in Westminster, Colorado. Biomedical Innovations is the final of the four year-long classes. Last semester, students studied how dementia affects the brain and created wellness plans to treat these patients. This episode follows three teens who will be first-generation college students. They are using the Biomedical Science and Health Occupations pathways to prepare for college and careers in the medical field. -
Stephanie Daniel / KUNCWestminster Public Schools is one of the smallest school districts in metro Denver and has only one comprehensive high school. Westminster High School, or Westy as it's fondly called, houses the district's Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. In 2019, the district received a CTE grant from the state which paid for Wolf Bites, a food truck run by culinary students. This episode follows them as they prepare for their first paid catering gig and features a video cinema arts student who helped produce the school's Wolf Bites video documentary. -
Lottie Wilson/Westminster Public SchoolsJobs in Colorado are changing, and now, an increasing number require a college degree or credential. The Colorado Dream: Career Education examines how a small metro Denver school district is playing a greater role in training tomorrow's workforce.
