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Oklahoma State University assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering He Bai, right, and graduate students Kiran Muniraja and Aditya Mulampally are developing autonomous technology using a golf cart. [PHOTOS BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN]
DRIVING FORCE OSU is readying engineering students for jobs of the future BY K.S. MCNUTT Staff Writer kmcnutt@oklahoman.com
STILLWATER — In the next decade, it may be common for autonomous cars to share the road with their manually driven counterparts. But before that can happen, autonomous vehicles must learn the rules of the road. Someone has to teach them to adapt to the driving behavior of other vehicles so they can react just like an alert human driver. Engineers at Oklahoma State University are tackling that challenge and preparing future engineers for success in jobs that don’t exist today. “My vision is the next generation of engineers should have the knowledge of what an autonomous system is ... how the components work together,” said He Bai, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Bai and graduate students are converting a golf cart into an autonomous golf cart in a lab at the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The research project also serves as teaching platform for undergraduates, Bai said. One key challenge is how the autonomous vehicle communicates to humans what it intends to do next, he said. The researchers have driven the cart on campus to test how a sensor perceives the environment and uses the information to make decisions. As the cart moves forward, words appear on screen to show how the “brain” identifies things — car, traffic light, bike, truck. Bai said the next stage will be to teach the cart to figure out the distance to the car ahead of it, as well as how to layer information. Green light means go, but not if another vehicle is ignoring the red light and entering the intersection. The team is using knowledge from drone collision avoidance to guide development of the autonomous vehicles, he said. After the cart learns to perceive distance, it must learn tracking — the car in one frame is the same
car in the previous frame, not another car. “The next milestone, hopefully by the end of the semester, will be to take it out and use GPS to navigate from point A to point B,” Bai said. In the not-too-distant future, visitors to OSU will be able to tour the campus in a golf cart that knows its way around. TESTING TECHNOLOGIES In another lab near by researchers are testing the robot-human collaboration of autonomous technologies. A simulator — like a driving game in an arcade — monitors a driver’s performance and alerts him if he is distracted. Texting, reaching for a dropped phone and fiddling with the radio all trigger a reminder to pay attention to the road. If a driver becomes drowsy, the car will take over. Future cars will offer various levels of autonomy, from assisted driving to full automation, said Weihua Sheng, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. Sheng and graduate students in his lab add another layer to the work Bai is doing. “We complement his work,” Sheng said. “We have to make sure the software is safe.” Imagine a car that can sense the driver is not alert because of illness or intoxication, so it slows down and pulls over to
Oklahoma State University assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering He Bai, center, and two of his graduate students, Kiran Muniraja and Aditya Mulampally, review a test run of their autonomous golf cart.
the side of road. Sheng’s research includes vehicle to vehicle communication. One possible scenario: A bus stopped at the curb is blocking the view of an autonomous car so it cannot “see” a person preparing to step into the street. A second car that can “see” the pedestrian relays the information to the first car, which applies the brakes. Bai said autonomous cars have the advantage of never getting tired, but still have a lot to learn before they are safe for the road. The change from all manual cars to all auton-
omous cars will be gradual, he said. “There will be a stage when autonomous cars will be mixed with regular cars, perhaps in dedicated lanes,” Bai said, “maybe in the next decade.” The future of autonomy will include multiple types of vehicles working simultaneously through continuous wireless communication, said professor Jamey Jacob, director of the Unmanned Systems Research Institute at OSU. Package delivery, for example, may consist of a selfdriving truck serving as a mobile warehouse
Weihua Sheng, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Oklahoma State University, talks about his work testing assisted-driver technology while doctoral student Duy Tran demonstrates.
with autonomous drones delivering packages. “The same is true for first responders providing emergency care to victims,” Jacob said. “Instead of driving the ambulance,
they can instead tend to victims in an autonomous car with drones at the ready to transport blood supplies to the hospital or time critical medicine to the victim.”
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CENTER OF IDEAS OU’s Innovation Hub gives creative thinkers tools for success BY K.S. MCNUTT Staff Writer kmcnutt@oklahoman.com
NORMAN — Giving creative ideas the wings to fly is the mission of the Tom Love Innovation Hub at the University of Oklahoma. No matter if the idea is a seed or a fullblown vision. Maybe you have all the knowledge required, but “just need a cool tool” to complete your project, said Thomas Wavering, executive director on the Innovation Hub. “Maybe you’re clueless where to begin. We have the people and staff with expertise to help you — even push you — and the resources to make your idea a reality,” Wavering said. Develop a mobile app in the code lab. Build a coffee table in the wood shop. Explore ancient art on cave walls in the visualization lab. The Innovation Hub is not only for OU students, faculty and staff. Members of the public are encouraged to walk through the doors, even without an idea. The staff can supply a design challenge to solve and provide training on the equipment needed to get the job done. “We are open to everybody. Everything here is free to use,” Wavering said. One thing often leads to another, he said. Someone who comes in to use the $14,000 embroidery machine sees someone using the laser cutter and asks to learn how to do that. The person using
The fabrication area inside the University of Oklahoma’s Tom Love Innovation Hub is a busy place that draws makers of all types. [PHOTOS BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN]
the laser cutter finds the 3-D printer intriguing. Innovation comes from that environment of people sharing their ideas and technological experience, he said. THE BUSINESS OF INNOVATION It can be exciting and fun, but it’s also serious business. “It’s unique to have in one space all these resources fully staffed. This is a dream 10 years in the making,” said Daniel Pullin, dean of OU’s Price College of Business. “It’s our flagship interdisciplinary classroom for experiential learning to propel today’s entrepreneurs and create those for tomorrow.” Their ideas are what will grow and diversify Oklahoma’s economy, Pullin said. “The entrepreneurial mindset challenges the status quo and leads to a better future for us all,”
he said. “Everybody can be an entrepreneur.” All OU freshmen — not just business majors — are encouraged to take a course on the subject, where Pullin and a dozen other deans explain the role of entrepreneurship in each discipline. That diversity is reflected in the spring 2018 class of interns working in the Ronni K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth. They represents 14 OU colleges and 30 majors. Pullin was recruited to OU in 2006 to launch the center, which today is housed in the Innovation Hub. The interns work with faculty on intellectual properties generated in OU research — guided by private sector entrepreneurs and business leaders — to bring the best ideas to the marketplace, Pullin said. Teams of students also work to find solutions for small companies and nonprofits that cannot
afford to hire experts. The students get real-world experience, and the clients get a free resource. FROM INCEPTION TO LAUNCH The Innovation Hub offers a range of free entrepreneurial resources to help people get their small business ideas off the ground. OU students with a business idea, but no money to finance it, can apply for a Sooner Innovation Fund grant. Community members can learn about federal funding available for aspiring companies. OU law students are available to offer free legal help with contracts, incorporation, leases and other business matters. “There is a suite of services to support ideas from inception to launch,” Pullin said. Wavering said those seeking assistance don’t have to worry about los-
Thomas Wavering, left, and Daniel Pullin pose for a photo in the Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, where University of Oklahoma students engage in real-world projects by working with university researchers and private-sector mentors. The center is located in the Tom Love Innovation Hub, where Wavering serves as executive director. Pullin is the dean of the OU Price College of Business.
The code lab in the Tom Love Innovation Hub provides the resources and expertise needed for software development and programming.
ing their intellectual property. Anyone who walks in with an idea, retains ownership of that idea, he said. The Innovation Hub exists to inspire, to sup-
port and “to have a significant impact on the state,” Wavering said. “It’s a tremendous resource for the state of Oklahoma. It helps today. It helps tomorrow.”
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OLD IS NEW AGAIN Academy headmaster helps shape modern students with classical education BY K.S. MCNUTT Staff Writer kmcnutt@oklahoman.com
As the headmaster exits the second-grade classroom, a young student in the hallway spontaneously hugs his leg in greeting. Eighth-graders seem equally at ease, if not so unabashedly affectionate, when he enters their classroom. That camaraderie is a key element at the Academy of Classical Christian Studies, where students study logic and Latin, read dozens of major Western classics and join in Socratic discussions on topics ranging from economics to evolution. “Those things are no longer as widely available,” said the Rev. Nathan Carr, headmaster of the school with three Oklahoma City campuses. Carr describes the students as “normal kids ... who are wise beyond their years” as a result of the classical education. “It’s animating, and we find a hundred ways to make it fun. It gives tremendous dignity to the student,” he said. Esperanza Osuna, an eighth-grader from Norman, said there is a misconception that classical education is “old stuff, dull and boring.” “Old texts don’t feel old. They come alive,” Osuna, 14, said. “Latin has actually been one of my favorite subjects.” She attended public school through fifth grade before enrolling at the Academy’s south campus for middle school, where classes are conversationbased. “We talk deeply and argue about our opinions,” Osuna said. “Before I just had to come to school. It makes it more personal. I really enjoy it now.” Carr said from sixthgrade on students are immersed in Socratic discussions with the professor serving as “a mentor guiding deeply philosophical conversation rooted in the opinions of the students.” There is a wide diversity in opinion, he said, so students have to learn “sacrificial listening.” Osuna said she and her classmates in sixth grade “were not good at it and talked over each other.” Now she sees how learning to converse and argue with her peers will be helpful all through life. Her seventh-grade life science class provided
The Rev. Nathan Carr is headmaster of the Academy of Classical Christian Studies in Oklahoma City. “Here’s the key, it’s not merely to fill their brains with facts. It’s to shape what they love,” Carr says. “You are what you love.” [PHOTOS BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN]
another epiphany. “I always thought I might want to be a doctor,” Osuna said. “That really took flight in me. I’d love to be a surgeon now.” CLASSICAL EDUCATION “We take the seven liberal arts of Plato the philosopher, and we recast those for a modern audience,” Carr said. “The liberal arts exist to liberate the mind. Every human being deserves to have a liberated mind, to think the highest possible thoughts about every discipline in life.” Carr readily admits this kind of private education is expensive. The Academy gave $450,000 in scholarships this year — 10 percent of its budget — in an effort to be as accessible as possible, he said. “The children come from a wide array of backgrounds, both socioeconomically and previous education levels,” Carr said. “We have people stepping in and out of public education.” Some students attend public grammar school, then come to the Academy for the upper grades. Some families send their children until it comes to biology and then moved them to a more conservative school that aligns with their theology. The school is transdenominational with families ranging from
conservative right-wing evangelical to progressive liberal Episcopalian, Carr said. It makes for lively debate among students and helps them learn to suspend judgment and work toward functional and civil discourse, he said. Students in pre-K through fifth grade can come to school five days a week or blend two days on campus with homeschooling. Five families from Stillwater bring their children two days a week to the north campus and share a tutor for homeschool days, Carr said. High school is five days a week on the Midtown campus. Osuna said she looks forward to the transition to high school, but she will miss her teachers who are “more like older friends.” ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Children are underserved when they are told “you can do anything you want to do,” but are not given the ability to express themselves fully, Carr said. If they are given the powers of expression — both in the written word and the spoken word — there is no limit to what they can do, he said. This year’s graduates include Trevor Lynn, a Norman student who was accepted to West Point. He is the Academy’s first
Headmaster Nathan Carr and student Esperanza Osuna talk in the eighth-grade classroom at the Academy of Classical Christian Studies’ south campus.
military school-bound graduate. Most graduates have gone into engineering, Carr said, but others have chosen kinesiology, journalism and computer technology. Graduating classes have been small since the Academy was formed in 2013 by the merger of two former private schools, but enrollment is growing. “We have seven kindergartens that are all full and seven graduates,” Carr said.
Enrollment is about 545 students — including five of Carr’s six children — and is expected to be 630 next year. As structured, the school is capable of serving 1,200 students, he said. Carr, 37, also is the vicar of St. James Episcopal Church, 8400 S Pennsylvania Ave. That location is convenient to the Academy’s campus at The Rock Assembly, 12500 S Pennsylvania Ave. But the north campus and main office at 1120 E Hefner Road and the high school
campus at First Baptist Church, 1201 N Robinson Ave., keep him on the go. In addition to their six children, Carr and his wife have been foster parents since 2013. Responsibilities with a growing school and growing family seem like a lot for one person to juggle. Carr said he can keep up primarily because of two things — he doesn’t require much sleep, and he is blessed to be surrounded at home, church and school with “great people, incredible people.”
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ECU alumna amplifies stories through different mediums BY LORI JOHNSON For The Oklahoman
East Central University alumna Sarah Jones has always been drawn to telling stories about people. That is why she wanted to be a journalist. The Byng High School graduate enrolled in mass communication at ECU in 2011 and immediately started filling her free time with activities that complemented her degree choice. She worked on the college’s yearbook staff and worked as an intern for four years with the ECU marketing and communications department. She gained journalism experience by working as a reporter at the local Ada radio station, KCNP. A few of her stories would air each week on the station’s public affairs hour. It was apparent that her passion was finding and illuminating the stories of the people she met. What surprised Jones was how she fell in love with the idea of using a broader spectrum to tell the stories. Jones took different creative classes, like design and layout, photography and writing, but when she discovered film class, it was love at first recording. “It was the first time I had ever used a video camera, and I had no idea what I was doing,” Jones recalled, “but I recognized its power to see and hear emotions as people told their stories.”
Sarah Jones, graduate of East Central University, reviews video for a project. [PHOTOS PROVIDED]
One of her favorite class projects was being co-director for ECU’s “Paper Lantern Lounge.” The music show features local bands and airs four episodes per semester. “It was a really cool experience,” Jones said. “You are responsible for everything — from finding and scheduling the bands, to lighting, organizing multiple camera angles and editing the final product.” Jones credits much of her student success to her filmography professor, adviser and mentor, the late Samantha “Sam” Dillehay. Not only because she introduced her to filmography, but also because she challenged and inspired Jones to present her best work. “There were times that my projects would be good, but she knew I could do better,” Jones said. “She would take the time to show me how to improve my work. It made me proud of the finished project.”
Jones recalls a subtle, yet memorable, lesson from her mentor. “We had a comprehensive senior portfolio that would be presented to a panel of community and businesses leaders. Often, the panel included people you would want to connect with for a job,” Jones said. “I remember on one part of my portfolio I had ran out of time and put the piece together quickly. The work was good, but it wasn’t outstanding. When the panel was reviewing that piece, Sam and I looked at each other. She never said anything, but we both knew it wasn’t my best work, and I didn’t like that feeling.” That experience has stayed with Jones throughout her career. “It has impacted the way I do my job today,” Jones said. “I always ask myself I can do better before I turn my final work — sometimes I can still hear her voice in my head.”
Sarah Jones is a social media creative producer with the Chickasaw Nation.
TELLING STORIES OF THE CHICKASAW NATION Jones graduated from ECU in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in mass media. She works as the social media creative producer with the Chickasaw Nation where she creates content, usually short videos and graphics, for the tribe’s media platforms. She recently helped promote two films, “Te Ata” and “Chickasaw Rancher,” that feature stories of Chickasaw heritage. She recently took home a Nextgen Under 30 Media/Public Relations Award from a statewide event that honors those, under the age of 30, who are already making an impact in their young
careers by demonstrating talent, drive and service to their communities. BE OPEN TO POSSIBILITIES Jones is continuing to hone her storytelling skills by pursuing her master’s in integrated marketing communications through online courses from West Virginia University. She envisions making documentaries that chronicle a person’s journey, like her most recent one that follows her co-worker through her first marathon. “I enjoy showing real people and telling their own story,” Jones said. Jones’ own story may have had a different ending if she had stayed the course with her journalism degree. That is why
she advocates for students to be open to new ideas, get job experience to explore career options and learn from a lot of different people. “I had never considered social media or videography as a career choice when I first went to college,” Jones said, “but I love what I do. My college experience opened my eyes that you don’t have to be good in just one area and that there are many ways to tell a story.” The Regional University System of Oklahoma governs six of the state’s universities: East Central University, Northeastern State University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Southwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Central Oklahoma.
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NSU tribal graduate continues education legacy BY LORI JOHNSON Chief Bill John Baker, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, visits with a young student.
For The Oklahoman
Education is interwoven throughout Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker’s life. Both of his grandmothers and parents were teachers who earned their degrees from Northeastern State College. His father and mother, Tim and Isabel, both held doctoral degrees and were professional educators. Isabel taught at Northeastern State University and later was appointed a regent for Oklahoma State University. Growing up in Tahlequah, Baker recalls his life revolving in and around the university. “Our home was just blocks away from the college, and you had to walk through campus to get to town,” Baker mused. He recalls watching the NSU athletic teams play college sports and playing a few pickup games of sandlot football himself on the campus. “It has always felt like home.” INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Even though Baker worked full-time at the local Hinds Department Store while attending college at NSU, his grandfather, a rancher and barber, insisted on paying for his books and tuition. “Education was very important to my family,” Baker said. “My granddaddy wanted to make sure that I always had the means to get a college degree.” His mother took it one step further and insisted that all her kids get a college degree in teaching. “I couldn’t wait to get into the business world, but I honored
[PHOTO PROVIDED]
my parents’ wishes,” Baker said. After earning his bachelor’s degree in political science and history — and completing the requirements for his teaching certification — Baker immediately returned to business. He invested in a furniture store and still owns and operates Baker’s Furniture, 45 years later. Baker became principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 2011. Before his election as chief, he served 12 years on the Cherokee Tribal Council. He has made Cherokee language preservation a top priority. Education efforts at the Cherokee Language Immersion School have expanded, and he has worked tirelessly to improve health care, housing, job creation and education throughout the Cherokee Nation’s 14-county jurisdiction in northeast Oklahoma.
MULTIPLYING THE EDUCATION FACTOR Created in 2003, the Cherokee Nation Scholarship program offers financial assistance to Cherokee Nation citizens pursuing a college degree. In the nearly seven years Baker has been in office, the Cherokee Nation has nearly doubled funding for the program — from $8.5 million to almost $16 million — and increased the number of scholarships awarded by 43 percent. Since 2010, more than 27,000 scholarships have been awarded through the Cherokee Nation higher education program. Every qualified Cherokee Nation student that applied has received the tribal scholarship under Chief Baker’s administration. Austin Jones and his brother, Cole Wilkie, both from Hulbert, are recipients of the Cherokee
Nation undergraduate scholarships. Jones is a political science major at Oklahoma City University and plans on pursing a law degree. His brother is an environmental, health and safety management major at NSU. Both receive $2,000 each semester to help pay for tuition and books. “The Nation’s help makes a huge difference,” Jones said. “I have another scholarship that pays for room and board, but without the Cherokee Undergraduate Scholarship, I would need a job to afford the rest of college. With it, I have the opportunity to be involved in extracurricular activities and have the full college experience.” NSU graduate student Sky Wildcat echoes the sentiment — that the scholarship affords academic freedom and opportunity. “The scholarship has helped me maintain a focus on my
school experience without going into debt," Wildcat said. “I don’t have to constantly worry about holding a full-time job, so I can take jobs on campus that I enjoy and fulfill my passions, while being involved in our Native Student organizations.” Wildcat’s undergraduate degrees are in psychology and geography. She is pursuing a master’s degree in higher education leadership. “I hope to lead a career in adult learning focusing on the experience of Native peoples,” Wildcat said. Additionally, the Cherokee Nation Foundation offers multiple scholarship opportunities, including the recent “Leave a Legacy” endowment campaign, which created more than $200,000 in new scholarships for Cherokee Nation students. One of the legacy scholarships is the Audie Baker Memorial Scholarship funded by Chief Baker. The scholarship honors his grandmother, a longtime Cherokee County educator. “It is amazing how fortunate we are as Cherokee citizens to have this support,” Jones said. “It is another way that the Cherokee Nation shows it cares, by investing in our future.” Baker views the scholarships as a resource built upon the legacy of his ancestors. “Investing in education is critical to the success of our people and our tribe,” Baker said. “The Cherokee Nation is taking on the role of my grandfather, and so many of our ancestors just like him, making sure the funds were there for college, and multiplying it — giving many other Cherokee students the opportunity to get a college degree.”
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Learning success through School of Hard Knocks BY LORI JOHNSON For The Oklahoman
Growing up in the streets of Chicago, Raul Font’s goals were simple: Find a way to eat, don’t get in a lot trouble and learn to get by without resorting to illegal activities — simple and straightforward goals for a 6-year-old boy. “We would sell bottles, shine shoes — anything to make some change and buy food,” Font said. It wasn’t that his parents didn’t care about Font and his three siblings, it was a cultural norm. “Back then it was believed that Latino men should be raised in the street — figuring things out on their own made them stronger and wiser,” he explained. What Font didn’t figure out was how to stay out of trouble. While enrolled in a Catholic School in Chicago, he seemed to always be the last one released. Staying after school for community service/ detention was habitual. By the age of 11, his family moved back to Puerto Rico to be closer to family. Font continued his challenges with structure, escalating to dropping out of school in the sixth grade for a semester. Soon after, he finally came across a sport and a coach that changed his life. “The coach handed me a basketball and said, ‘Every time you are angry, bounce the ball and get out that energy, so you don’t
Raul Font
get into fights,’” Font said. Bouncing the ball led to shooting hoops and eventually to playing high school basketball, which meant Font had to stay in school and do well to play on the team. HARD DECISIONS ON THE COURT Font graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Puerto Rico and played basketball as a walk-on at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, eventually earning a basketball scholarship. He played shooting guard until he tore a knee ligament during his junior year. It was the end of his college basketball career and his college scholarship. “I didn’t know what to do next,” Font said. “I couldn’t afford to finish college without a scholarship, and now that I had realized a world outside of my old neighborhood, I couldn’t go back to the place I grew up defeated.” Font realized his decision was more of a declaration to finish what he had started than an ulti-
Raul Font, president of the Latino Community Development Agency, visits with workers at a health fair. [PHOTOS PROVIDED]
matum: “I either completed college, or end up dead or in jail, like most of my childhood friends.” Font earned money by playing in salsa bands and finished college early. He took his bachelor’s degree in English and returned to his high school to teach and coach basketball. Six years later, Font returned to the United States and taught at Moore Public Schools. After earning his master’s degree in bilingual education/English as a second language from the University of Central Oklahoma, he worked for the Oklahoma Education Department. Later
he joined Oklahoma City Public Schools as a building administrator with “tours” at U.S. Grant, Jefferson Middle and Capitol Hill School — while completing his doctorate in education administration, curriculum and supervision at the University of Oklahoma. Font has taught every grade — from first grade to doctoral-level courses. “I often worked at the schools that others had given up on and asked for the ‘bad’ kids,” Font said. “I wanted to show them that education was their way out and could never be taken away. I am living proof.”
KNOWLEDGE ILLUMINATES LIFE’S PATHS Font served as the assistant superintendent for instruction/external resources with Santa Fe South Schools from 2007 to 2015. He is a founding member of the Latino Community Development Agency and in 2015 became the organization’s president. “You never know your impact on the young people you meet,” Font said, “whether it is inspirational words or correction.” He recalled an incident at his first gala with the Latino Community Development
Agency where a young lady he didn’t recognize came up, gave him a hug and thanked him. It turns out, the woman was a former student who had been expelled from school and he re-enrolled her. Font spent extra time with the student to ensure she would graduate her senior year. “Fourteen years later, she is standing in front of me, as vice president of a bank,” he said proudly. The woman told Font that her success was because of what he did for her in high school. “She is the next generation of living proof of how education can bring success, regardless of where you began,” Font said.
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SKILLS FOR SUCCESS Technology centers help empower students, equip businesses BY SHARLA BARDIN For The Oklahoman
Jade See credits Moore Norman Technology Center for boosting her confidence and skills and providing a path that led to her dream job. A few years ago, the single mom was working a series of jobs in sales and retail. But she wanted a better job and a career. See received financial assistance and enrolled at the technology center. She chose the auto collision repair and refinishing program because she liked the hands-on aspect of the program, including the painting and repair work. See, whose father is a mechanic, grew up with an interest in cars and discovered she has a “natural knack” for painting and restoring cars. See finished the program in 2015, worked in the industry and is now an instructional assistant in the auto collision class where she helps teach painting and assists students with projects. It’s a job she loves and an opportunity she’s grateful to have. “Being here is such a privilege,” she said. “Moore Norman Technology Center as a whole and this program has done so much for me as a person. It’s helped me grow a lot.” Like See, thousands of Oklahomans are turning toward technology centers for workforce training, career development, industry certifications or general interest courses, such as cooking, photography or fitness classes. The affordability, accessibility and variety of pro-
grams offered are some of the reasons why students are attending the centers. See, for one, said she chose Moore Norman Technology Center “because of its convenient location and because of all the classes they have available here.” Last year, 343,351 adults enrolled in technology centers, along with 20,088 high school students, according to the fiscal year 2017 annual report from Oklahoma’s CareerTech system. There are 29 technology center districts in the state, and the centers are a component of the CareerTech system that offers career and technology education programs statewide. “Our goal in CareerTech is to improve Oklahoma’s economy,” said Marcie Mack, state director of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. That work includes, for example, educating youth and adults about career options in the state and helping them find the training and acquire the skills needed for those jobs. “I think it’s important that Oklahoma students understand all of the career opportunities we have in our state,” Mack said. Another outreach with the CareerTech system is with businesses and offering industry-specific training for employees. That includes, for example, providing training and resources for volunteer firefighters and shortterm professional development for adults. Last year, the CareerTech system served 7,824 companies,
Sieara Johnson, left, and her instructor, Joe Booker Jr., auto collision instructor at Moore Norman Technology Center, check out Johnson’s test piece for a welding project. [PHOTOS BY SHARLA BARDIN, FOR THE OKLAHOMAN]
and assisted companies to locate to the state and provide training for 1,542 new jobs, according to the annual report. Mack said the CareerTech system is also “a part of the conversation around helping to attract new companies” to the state and making sure training is available to meet the needs of those businesses. Mack said there has been increasing demand for CareerTech programs and said a pivotal moment in the system was about eight years ago when enrollment increased to more than 500,000. That number includes industry-specific training, adult and career develop-
LEFT: Jade See is an instructional assistant in the auto collision class at Moore Norman Technology Center. See is also a former student at the center.
ment, programs in secondary schools and Skills Centers that offer career and technology education to adult and juvenile offenders. Last year’s total enroll-
ment in CareerTech programs was 522,908, according to the annual report. Mack said she believes a significant reason for the enrollment increase is
because all the CareerTech programs put in place “are directly in line with workforce needs.” Mack said she gets the SEE CAREER, 11S
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‘MAYOR OF MILLWOOD’ Superintendent’s longevity keys district’s success BY TIM WILLERT Staff Writer twillert@oklahoman.com
Millwood Public Schools Superintendent Cecilia Robinson-Woods likes to challenge herself. It’s the reason she gives for moving from Oklahoma City to Hartford, Connecticut, to Kansas City to Tulsa and back to Oklahoma City to pursue jobs as a teacher, principal and administrator. “I just kind of get an itch,” she said. “I think it’s really more like a professional growth (thing). Like, ‘Am I pushing myself enough?’” It happens about every three years. “You get into some place and you think you’ve kind of stabilized it or done what you came for, and so I started looking around,” she said. That changed when Robinson-Woods, 46, took the Millwood job in July 2013. More than a decade away from Oklahoma City had prepared her to make tough decisions that come with trying to turn around a struggling school district. Millwood was the job RobinsonWoods wanted, and she was determined to succeed. Five years have passed and still no itch. There’s too much unfinished business at the 900-student district in northeast Oklahoma City. “I don’t know how I’m going to leave, I have so much to do,” she said. “I think it’s just a really good fit. I think it’s just a good professional fit. I mean, I’m a part of the commu-
This is a recent assignment of Sister to Sister, a group of young ladies mentored by Cecilia Robinson-Woods, Millwood schools superintendent.
nity. I live three minutes up the road. I fit in here.” Robinson-Woods grew up in the North Highlands section of Oklahoma City and graduated from John Marshall High School. While she didn’t attend Millwood schools, she was a part of the community. Five aunts taught in the Millwood district, a sister went to school there briefly and RobinsonWoods went to basketball camps taught by Arnelia Spears, the former Millwood girls basketball coach. “I was at Millwood every summer, and I was always jealous that they all knew each other, like they’d been together forever ... and I didn’t have anything like that,” she said. “So it really instilled in me a sense of community; even though I wasn’t even a student here, I was part of this community.” Busing took away that sense of community from the future superintendent when she was a child. “Every elementary school year, I was bused
to a different school,” she said. “It wasn’t until I got into Eisenhower (now Centennial) that I was with the same group of kids through high school. “I never went to school with the kids on the block. That was just busing. They literally took the neighborhood and ripped it apart.” As a result, RobinsonWoods wanted to be able to shape communities when she became an educator. She’s doing so today. Christine Harrison, Millwood’s director of teaching and learning, credits Robinson-Woods for a rise in parent participation and mentoring programs, grants and scholarships for seniors. “Our mission is to prepare our students for college and career readiness,” said Harrison, a 39-year Millwood employee whose position is being eliminated because of budget cuts. “I believe the strategic plan that was led by Cecilia is going to afford us the opportunity to reach
Cecilia Robinson-Woods, Millwood schools superintendent, talks about her keys to success. [PHOTOS BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN]
those goals.” The district’s “Five Bold Goals” are readiness in early years, self responsibility and self development, student voice, engagement and leadership, mastery of core subjects, and persistence to high school graduation. “I can tell you that she has a knack for making sure that students have voices and that they are engaged and they take part in the leadership decisions,” Harrison said. Robinson-Woods, who oversaw 28 schools in Kansas City and ran Tulsa County’s Head Start pro-
gram (4,000 kids and 600 employees), considers Millwood to be her “dream job.” “You’re in the middle of Oklahoma City and you have your own small community,” she said. “Where does that happen, ever, without leaving town? “We joke and say I’m the mayor of Millwood. I mean, I’ve got kids that work at the McDonald’s and at the Braum’s and at the theater. Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by my community at Millwood.” Once a week she sits down with a group of
middle school girls and talks about life. She went to bat for teachers, telling the school board they needed more time for collaboration and practices. The district implemented an early release program that allows staff to receive professional development several days a year. “We’ve never had that,” Harrison said. Robinson-Woods credits the school board for its support. “I appreciate that they allow me to have vision because I’m a big picture person,” she said. John Pettis, Millwood alum and Oklahoma City Council Ward 7 councilman, appointed Robinson-Woods as the Ward 7 representative for MAPS 3. She also serves on the citizens advisory board and is the vice chair of the senior wellness subcommittee. Pettis said Millwood is in “great hands.” “She’s a hard worker, no question about it,” he said. “She’s always trying to improve Millwood, which I really respect. “It’s refreshing to see a superintendent investing the time and the energy and the resources into a school that I graduated from.” Robinson-Woods serves on several boards that ask her to be a voice for women and minority children. “This seat has actually enabled me to do more things citywide and statewide than I think I would have been able to do with just about any other position,” she said.
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Putnam City is one of the few districts in Oklahoma that offers instruction in stringed instruments to elementary students. Apollo Elementary fifth-grader Maria Victoria Cruz Torres and some of her fellow students take part in an early morning strings class. Students are guided on how to create a good tone on their instrument while increasing their musical literacy by reading notes. Students in fourth and fifth grades at every Putnam City elementary school have the opportunity for strings instruction. [PHOTO PROVIDED]
AT THE ART OF LEARNING Despite budget cuts, Putnam City expands elective programming BY BRANDY MCDONNELL Features Writer bmcdonnell@oklahoman.com
Whether playing the national anthem at an Oklahoma City Thunder home game or performing an intriguing string quartet cover of the Beach Boys’ classic “Barbara Ann” at an Oklahoma Autism Center fundraiser, members of The Silver Strings of Putnam City stay on the move. Of course, that mobility is to be expected, as The Silver Strings is believed to be the state’s only “strolling orchestra,” in which the players walk through the audience while performing. In its 29th year, the program includes about 60 musicians from the district’s three high schools. “They get a lot of the classical playing and some of the more formal stuff during the day at each site — that’s when we work on the Brahms and the Beethoven and the fun stuff — but this is mainly focused on pop music and refining the students’ ability to perform in front of the community and building their individualized performance ethic,” said Levi Dobrinski, chairman of Putnam City Public Schools’ orchestra program and director of The Silver Strings. “You can see that spark that just turns on when it’s something that they truly enjoy and it’s something that they feel that they’re good at.” The Silver Strings isn’t the only unique arts program Putnam City Schools has developed to spark its students toward success. The only school district to receive a Governor’s Arts Award this year, Putnam City is expanding its fine arts programs at a time when shrinking budgets are prompting many public schools to slash electives like music, drama and visual arts. “We’re working to grow our programs, not to cut,” said Brandy Sitts, the district’s curriculum coordinator for fine arts and gifted programs. “Putnam City really believes that the arts are an integral part of a child’s education and their mental and emotional development. We
have fine arts programs at every single one of our sites.” EXPANSIVE OFFERINGS Putnam City’s emphasis on the arts begins in grade school, and the district has an art teacher and a music teacher at every one of its 18 elementary sites. The northwest Oklahoma City school district is one of the few in the state to offer an elementary strings program, with orchestra teachers from the middle and high schools traveling to the grade schools to teach fourth- and fifth-graders. “It varies from site to site: Some are offered during the day, some are offered right at the beginning of the school day, right before the school day,” Dobrinski said. “But anyone who wants to be in orchestra in fourth or fifth grade can be.” “It’s very much unique to Putnam City, and it’s great to get them started that early in the arts,” he added. “Those students who begin in fourth grade, by the time they get to sixth grade, they’re leaps and bounds ahead of a beginning sixthgrader, although it varies with different students, of course.” In the five middle schools, Putnam City provides art, vocal music, orchestra, band and theater to all students. Students at the district’s three high schools have the opportunity to choose from more than 30 arts options, from show choir and visual arts to marching band and drama. High schoolers can even enroll in music theory and art history classes. “We’re bringing in graphic design; we’re bringing in film production. We’re trying to broaden it and really meet the needs of the students and what they’re currently interested in,” Sitts said. “We’re teaching kids how to express themselves … and we start introducing it in a way where they can be successful, that they can learn that their thoughts are important, that they can create something. Arts also teach valuable life skills that they’re
Plus, pupils can develop creative and critical thinking through the arts, Sitts said. “We’re moving into a society where careers are not industrialized; these kids are not working in factories. These kids are going to be asked to ... work well with others and look for solutions to problems that don’t even exist yet,” she said. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Fred Rhodes, superintendent of Putnam City Schools, shakes hands with Gov. Mary Fallin on Feb. 28 as he accepts the Arts in Education Award on behalf of Putnam City Schools, during the Governor’s Arts Awards at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. [PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]
GOING ON Putnam City Fine Arts Festival When: May 5. Where: Putnam City North High School, 11800 N Rockwell Ave. Information: pcfinearts. weebly.com or www. putnamcityschools. org. Students in every Putnam City school are offered a variety of art instruction by 95 fine arts teachers. Western Oaks Elementary second-grader Siriwan Adsawathanat practices for a school program in vocal music class. [PHOTO PROVIDED]
going to take on to their future home life and careers.” SECRETS TO SUCCESS Many Putnam City students are able to start building careers in the arts through the district’s programs. “Our students leave here on arts scholarships to college, and some even go on to professional careers in various arts fields. For students interested in the arts, there are so many wonderful possibilities here,” Superintendent Fred Rhodes, who accepted the district’s Governor’s Art Award from Gov. Mary Fallin at the Feb. 28 ceremony at the state Capitol, said in a statement. But even for students who don’t plan to pursue a career in the arts,
the programs provide building blocks to success. Sitts said research has found ties between participation in arts programs and increased emotional well-being, as well as lower dropout rates. “Stop any kid in the hall and ask them what they best part of their day is. It’s most often going to be the arts,” Sitts said. Studies have shown that students are three times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement if they’re involved in an artistic discipline, she said. “In almost any statistic that you look at, involvement in those types of programs — any art programs — really pours over into the other subjects,” Dobrinski added. “The arts aren’t there to help those other subjects, per se, but at the same time, it helps.
... We see some of our highest achieving students involved in the arts. I feel that the arts spur them on to that upward success that they achieve.” Participation in the arts also helps students master broader life skills like dedication, determination and teamwork that will be invaluable in adulthood, he said. “It just broadens the minds of our children,” Dobrinski said. “They see something that they can excel in, and it shows them that really positive self-image and self-worth that some of them are really longing for. It also develops a really good work ethic: whether it be in band or choir or even in art, the discipline it takes to complete a piece of art or to practice a piece of music well enough for an audition or a chair placement test. It develops grit and tenacity in them that I think carries over very well.”
Although the need for arts programs in public schools is sometimes questioned, Sitts said the wider community has shown support for Putnam City’s efforts. “I can go out in the community with my badge on, and people at the gas station will stop me and tell me how wonderful the last art show was or the last orchestra performance that they went to — and these are people who don’t even have children inside the district,” she said. Putnam City’s programs also are offering more opportunities for people in Oklahoma City to partake in the arts. Performances by the various orchestras, choirs and theater groups are open to the public, with a districtwide arts calendar at pcfinearts.weebly.com detailing when events are happening. The events culminate each year in the Putnam City Fine Arts Festival, planned this year for May 5 at Putnam City North High School. In its 38th year, the festival brings together musical, theatrical and other performances and visual arts displays from elementary through high school students, along with art-making experiences for children and adult festivalgoers and an exhibition of artwork by the district’s art teachers. As for The Silver Strings, the strolling orchestra continues to go out into the community to perform for hospitals, senior citizen centers and civic organizations. But the group will be taking its talents well beyond walking distance in the coming months, as it has been invited to perform in London for New Year’s celebrations in 2020.
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GEARING UP FOR SUCCESS Program helps OKC district student pursue college education BY TIM WILLERT Staff Writer twillert@oklahoman.com
University of Oklahoma commit Belenda Torres never thought of herself as college material. “I never really saw it as something realistic because my family, we don’t make a lot of money,” she said. Torres, a south Oklahoma City resident whose parents emigrated from Mexico, learned differently after being introduced to GEAR UP for the PROMISE in middle school. The federal grant program helps disadvantaged students prepare for and pursue a college education. “Once I started going to high school, GEAR UP started talking about scholarships and they started telling us about how you can get financial aid,” she said. “That’s when I really started considering going to college, because I could actually afford it.” GEAR UP for the PROMISE, a partnership between Oklahoma City Public Schools and the University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal, served 4,300 students during the 2016-17 school year. The partnership started in 2011 with a seven-year, $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Education Department. Torres began participating in the sixth grade. Key features of the grant include professional development for teachers, counselors
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opportunity to talk with students in the CareerTech programs across the state and hear their stories about how the programs helped them find a career or enhanced their existing jobs. She takes those stories to heart. “For me, that’s what makes my job a great place to be every day.” PREPARING FOR A PROFESSION At Moore Norman Technology Center, See works alongside Joe Booker Jr., who is in his 20th year as the auto collision instructor at the center. “Mr. Booker is a great instructor,” she said. “I’m even constantly learning new things from Mr. Booker every single day.”
For more information about the GEAR UP program go to https://k20center. ou.edu/index.php/ programs/gearuppromise/ or call Laura S. Buxton, GEAR UP project coordinator for Oklahoma City Public Schools, at 405-587-0332.
and principals; informational sessions and leadership opportunities for parents; and academic and college-readiness programming for students. Through GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, Torres, 18, a senior at U.S. Grant High School, visited college campuses and learned how to fill out financial aid forms. She’s also raised the $22,000 she’ll need to attend OU next year through various scholarships. “It kind of introduces you to college and a lot of the things that you never really think about,” she said of the program. “I feel like without GEAR UP, I would have never even set foot on a college campus.” Her high school career, which comes to a close in May, has been exceptional. A class valedictorian, she’s maintained a 4.3 GPA and has earned 36 hours of college credit by taking Advanced Placement courses, which means she’ll enroll at OU Like See, Booker also was a student at a technology center. He enrolled in an automotive program at Southern Oklahoma Technology Center in Ardmore. After finishing the program, Booker’s career included working at independent body shops and a General Motors dealership body shop. He also kept in touch with his instructor from the technology center, who encouraged Booker to teach. Booker said one of his goals with his students is to provide them with the training and skills necessary to meet current industry needs. He learns about those needs through regular conversations with those in the automotive and related industries. One of those professionals is Garold Mills, owner of Mills Body Shop in Norman. Mills works with Booker on student internships, and
Belenda Torres, a senior at U.S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City, poses Feb. 28 with the school’s cannon. Torres is the national GEAR UP Student of the Year for 2017. [PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN]
as a sophomore. She’s excelled while taking care of two younger siblings after school while her parents are at work. “Belenda is the type of student that may not always get recognized because she doesn’t seek the spotlight for herself,” said Laura Buxton, GEAR UP project coordinator for Oklahoma City Public Schools. “Her drive for success comes from a deep desire to contribute to her family, friends and community. “The combination of her hard work and the support of her family, her school and the GEAR UP program prove that it said the interns are “very interested and willing to absorb knowledge and learn their trade.” Mills said the shop experience and the instruction they receive at the technology center helps better prepare them for the profession. “They get the training necessary to go out into the field and begin to start a career,” Mills said. Booker said one of his favorite aspects of the job is hearing his students’ success stories. “It really makes me feel good when I see students out doing well for themselves and providing for themselves,” he said. Booker also works alongside a former student who is grateful for his instruction and for the opportunities she’s experienced at Moore Norman Technology Center. “I’ve landed my dream job,” See said. “This is where I’m supposed to be. I love being here.”
is possible for students from all economic backgrounds to attend college.” When the school district decided to stop paying for ACT tests because of budget cuts, Torres led the effort to raise $4,000 so low-income students could afford to take the college entrance exam. The district reversed course and ended up paying for the tests, so Torres and other members of the AP Club at Grant dedicated the money to scholarships for seniors in need. In addition to serving on several clubs and organizations at Grant, Torres was one of 81 stu-
dents from across Oklahoma selected to serve on state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister’s Student Advisory Council. “Belenda is a remarkable young woman with an impressive commitment to leadership and service,” state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said. “We are grateful that she is bringing her time, talent and perspective to my Student Advisory Council. She is an excellent representative of Oklahoma City Public Schools’ diverse student body.” In July, Torres was named GEAR UP Student
of the Year for 2017, beating out about 100 other students for the national award. She flew on a plane for the first time to a GEAR UP conference in San Francisco, where she received her award and a $2,000 scholarship. “GEAR UP provided me with the resources that I needed to increase my knowledge of college,” Torres said during her acceptance speech. “Through GEAR UP, my peers and I have learned that individuals of all backgrounds and circumstances can be successful if they have the drive and motivation to achieve their dreams.”
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CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE Former principal touts community investment in state’s kids BY MELISSA HOWELL Staff Writer mhowell@oklahoman.com
Oklahoma has its share of less-than-flattering statistics. But former Oklahoma City school principal, author and speaker Lee Roland says many of the state’s challenges can be resolved by investing in the one thing that can usher in a better future — Oklahoma’s children. Roland has been an outspoken proponent of social justice since his retirement from Tulakes Elementary in northwest Oklahoma City, where he oversaw a remarkable turnaround in the school’s culture and academic performance from 2003 to 2015. He recently spoke to patrons of the Opportunity Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County, a 50-year-old organization devoted to adult education and job training. “Many of our parents have been victims of social storms. Too many of the parents or guardians of our precious children at Tulakes — many quite young — were storm-beaten and not really hopeful of truly blossoming,” Roland read from his recent book, “Fantastic Voyage.” “The end result was a frail and damaged child that came to school ready to do anything except reading, writing and arithmetic.
Lee Roland speaks March 29 during the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County’s Annual Gala. [PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN]
He wanted to fight. He was inclined to rebel. … He was hungry. He was tired. He was angry. He was sullen. Most of all, he was hurt, with no vocabulary to express such.” Empathy toward less fortunate Oklahomans is a consistent theme throughout his book — and one he imparts to audiences large and small since leaving Tulakes. “We judge poor people for being broke and say things like, ‘Just get a job,’ when we send all the jobs to China. We blame the have-nots for not having anything, saying things like, ‘This is the land of opportunity.’ Opportunity for who? … We’ve traded job training
for the prisons,” he said. Roland recalled his own childhood, during which his “drug addicted” parents gave him the tools to excel and be a responsible and productive adult. “My story could have been a whole lot different if I had not been raised by two ‘drug addicts,’” Roland told about 500 attending the OIC event. “I was drug to church on Sunday mornings. I was drug to church for VBS (vacation Bible school), weddings, revivals and anything a preacher could think up. I was drug to family reunions and birthday celebrations, whether I knew them or not. I was drug by my ears if I was disrespectful
Lee Roland greets students on the first day of school at Tulakes Elementary in 2012. [OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES PHOTO] LEFT: Roland’s book, “Fantastic Voyage,” came out earlier this year. [PHOTO PROVIDED]
to any adult. I was drug out to pull weeds from the flower bed. I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help with whatever the homeowner needed. “Ladies and gentlemen,
those drugs are still in my veins. And they affect my behavior in everything I do, say or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack or heroin. If today’s child had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place,” he said. Opportunity Industrialization Center provides individualized services
through education and skills training at its location near the Capitol in Oklahoma City. Services include GED preparation, literacy skills, computer training and other education programs for individuals age 16 or older residing in Oklahoma, Cleveland, Logan and Canadian counties.
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