Dacoda McDowell-Wahpekeche is a graduating student of the Gaylord College of Journalism from Little Axe, Oklahoma. As a young kid, McDowell-Wahpekeche drew inspiration from local TV reporting and dreamt of becoming a reporter himself. As a member of the Absentee Shawnee tribe, the journalism student and OU Nightly fixture found opportunities through Gaylord with Indian Country Today to accent his Native American Studies minor and a desire to be a forward thinker in his community. Through his passion and dedication, McDowell-Wahpekeche earned a position with KOCO News 5 in Oklahoma City following his December graduation.
