The Colorado Dream

Aurora is home to immigrants and refugees from around the world. To help them succeed, the city created an ambitious integration plan that focuses heavily on supporting foreign-born entrepreneurs. And for good reason; immigrants and refugees have higher rates of starting new businesses than American-born residents. Throughout the city there are immigrant-owned businesses like food markets, restaur...

The 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. What does it mean for these immigrants, and their kids, to be Black in America?  “There's a tension between the African immigrant and the Black community. Why? Because of misconcepti...

English is the “language of opportunity.” That’s a line from Aurora’s 10-year Immigrant Integration Plan. Before creating this plan, the city conducted focus groups in 2019 with community members and found the two top priorities for immigrants and refugees were learning English and finding employment. Research shows that immigrants who are proficient in English have higher paying jobs . Not only c...

Aurora is one of the most diverse cities in Colorado. In fact, about one in five residents is foriegn born. Over half came from the Americas, mainly Mexico. After that the largest groups hail from Ethiopia, Vietnam, Korea, El Salvador and India. To help immigrants and refugees succeed, the city created an integration plan. It was among the first in the country to do so. “Our city leaders at the ti...

The 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.  Salwa was born in Liberia, West Africa and endured the country’s brutal civil war. Sh...

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 helping those most in need? In season two of T...

“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 Colora...

Westminster, 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....

Biomedical 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. T...

Westminster 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 the...

Trailer for Season 1 of the Colorado Dream, a KUNC podcast by Stephanie Daniel