THE TEAM | Spedoklahoma

Meet The Team!

Making a Difference One Story at a Time

Oklahoma State University brought together ten diverse multimedia students from around the world to research and report on Special Education in Oklahoma. We set goals of spreading awareness and knowledge on meaningful topics that are not talked enough about. As a group, we are proud of not only achieving our goals, but growing as individuals along the way.

Darby Madden

Winter Park, Florida

Multimedia Journalism

"I was personally impacted by the people we met and grateful for the opportunity to share their experiences in the Special Education community of Oklahoma."

Lauryn Thomas

Forest Park, Oklahoma

Multimedia Journalism

& Political Science

"Being able to write about special education in Oklahoma has opened my eyes to what we are doing well, and also what we need to change. I am hopeful for the future of education in Oklahoma and happy to be a part of that change."

Zoe Kent-Ferraro

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Multimedia Journalism

"As someone who has been an activist for special education for many years, learning more, reporting and meeting many people throughout this process as been so rewarding."

Emmett McKeel

Owasso, Oklahoma

Multimedia Journalism

"It's important to me that every facet of education, especially specialized, is reported and common knowledge. Oklahomans deserve to know what does and does not go on in schools, and how their children's education be better improved."

Esther Niang

Jenks, Oklahoma

Multimedia Journalism

"Seeing the work that special education teachers have done and are currently doing opened my eyes to Oklahoma's case. I'm glad to have worked on this subject as I believe education is for everyone and we all deserve a fair and equal opportunity to pursue it."

Amelia Jáuregui

Plano, Texas

Multimedia Journalism & Strategic Communications

"I have always had a passion for equal opportunity and special education, so getting to fully dive into this topic was extremely special. We met so many incredible people and learned so much about the programs in Oklahoma."

Daniel Mutai

Stillwater, Oklahoma

Multimedia Journalism

"I enjoyed educating myself on Special Education in Oklahoma. Reporting the full range of what it does to help and hinder Oklahomans will make this state better."

Olivia Bloomfield

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Multimedia Journalism

"Giving a voice through this platform to the students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families is something I am very grateful to have been able to do. It has truly been amazing to learn the stories of these individuals."

Saara Hakanen

Kerava, Finland

Multimedia Journalism

"I got inspired by the positive outlook in life that the unique people in the Oklahoma special education system have."

Gavin Pendergraff

Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Multimedia Journalism

"Growing up with a brother who has special needs, I felt an immediate connection with these stories and the people involved."

Thank You!

Thank you for taking the time to experience the stories we have told. We learned so much over the course of 4 months and the amount of time we poured into these stories have made us more knowledgeable and passionate of Special Education in Oklahoma. Special Education in Oklahoma is notoriously inadequate so we wanted to show what Oklahoma is doing to make it better along with its shortcomings. In the end, we have become better storytellers and better people.