Notes from Arapahoe County
Rocky Mountain Public Media, the home of Rocky Mountain PBS, KUVO Jazz, and TheDrop303 has developed a partnership with Colorado Ethnic Media Exchange to launch this monthly essay series, as part of our vision to co-create a Colorado where everyone feels seen and heard. These stories are sourced from community members across the state—told in their own words and selected from our 64-county community ambassador program. They are not editorial products of our journalism team, but are first-person reflections on life in Colorado – building bridges through empathy. To learn more about all of our brands and content, check us out at https://www.rmpbs.org/about.
The Community Aurora Taught Me by Maureen Maycheco
I love Aurora. I say that without hesitation, without apology, and with a kind of deep pride that feels rooted in my bones. Aurora is home, not just because I live here, but because it has taught me what community truly means.
In Aurora, community is a lived experience. It is exchanged through a bag of tomatoes over the fence, through a knock on the door to check in on a neighbor, through the unspoken understanding that we are looking out for one another.
My neighborhood is stitched together with people from all over the world, refugees, immigrants, and families, who carry with them stories, recipes, music, languages, and traditions that make Aurora one of the most diverse cities in the country.
This diversity is not something I observe from a distance; it’s what I participate in every day. I have a food-trade system with my neighbors: herbs for eggrolls, squash for eggs. We share abundance, and in doing so, we share pieces of ourselves. It is a quiet, powerful act of belonging.
Serving on Aurora’s Immigrant and Refugee Commission (AIRC) has given me another vantage point on this truth. I’ve seen how Aurora becomes both a sanctuary and a launchpad for families who have crossed oceans, borders, and hardships. I’ve listened to their concerns about housing, health care, schools, By Maureen Maycheco (she/they) Vice President of Strategic Partnership and Growth at COLOR, and 80013 resident and safety, and I’ve seen how, despite obstacles, they continue to give back, to contribute, to weave themselves into the fabric of this city. Aurora doesn’t just welcome, it absorbs, transforms, and reflects back the richness of the world.
But loving Aurora also means understanding the challenges we face. Our diversity, our collective strength, and the way we care for each other are all things that challenge systems built on exclusion and control.
We Want to Hear from You
We’re inviting community members across the state to share their own stories of living in Colorado —of identity, discovery, and what it means to belong.
Tell us about a moment or a place in Colorado that changed how you see yourself or your community.
Share your reflections at ambassador64@rmpbs.org
This is part of Ambassador64, our statewide listening initiative to ensure public media reflects the voices of all 64 counties in Colorado—starting with yours.