“We hardly need to be reminded that we are living in an age of confusion – a lot of us have traded in our beliefs for bitterness and cynicism, or for a heavy package of despair, or even a quivering portion of hysteria. Opinions can be picked up cheap in the marketplace while such commodities as courage and fortitude and faith are in alarmingly short supply.”

These sentiments could have been triggered by a recent perusal of Twitter or Facebook, but they’re actually taken from a 1951 broadcast by legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow.

Murrow was introducing a series he called “This I Believe,” in which he asked people from all walks of life to share their personal philosophies.

Following Murrow’s lead, the University of Oklahoma holds an annual symposium where select members of the OU community are invited to read their own “This I Believe” essays.

Of the nine students, faculty members and alumni who shared their essays Feb. 8, two had Kingfisher County ties – OU freshman Prairie “PK” Kaya, a Kingfisher High School graduate, and OU alum Jose Renteria, a Hennessey native.

PK Kaya

The daughter of Kurt Kaya and Shel Wagner of Kingfisher, Kaya is a 2021 honor graduate of KHS.

At OU, her academic emphasis in dramaturgy and history keeps her involved in theatrical productions and research on campus.

She also is involved with the Global Engagement Fellowship, the OU Student Theatre Council, Honors College, and the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference, and enjoys composing slam poetry and creative nonfiction.

Juan Renteria

Renteria is a fifth grade teacher at Truman Elementa ry in Norman, where he also serves as head teacher and was the district’s 2021 teacher of the year.

He is a first-generation college graduate and describes himself as the proud son of hard-working immigrants.