Heather Mendoza Coyle is an Oklahoma native and a graduate of Putnam City North High School and the University of Oklahoma. She holds many titles. One of them is judge."I'm proud to be Hispanic. I'm proud of the morals that my family taught me," Coyle said. "It's just been a dream of mine to serve my community in this capacity."Coyle is an Oklahoma County district judge for the Seventh Judicial District. She also is one of the first Hispanic women to hold the position.She credits her success to the support of her family, who always told her she could do anything she set her mind to."Despite being a woman, despite being Hispanic, they always told me that I could do what I set my mind to with hard work and determination," Coyle said.During her time as a law student at OU, Coyle interned at the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office. That's where her career started, and she spent 10 years working as a traditional prosecutor.Coyle spent the next 10 years overseeing diversion programs."Which are programs like drug court, DUI court, remerge for women. All alternatives for incarceration," Coyle said.According to the American Bar Association, the number of female lawyers increased from 33% in 2011 to 37% in 2021.When it comes to diversity, people of color only represent 14.6% of the legal profession; and 4.8% of all lawyers last year were Hispanic.The numbers show the profession has been slow to diversity."I would just encourage more people if you think you want to be a leader – be it an elected position or on the board of something – get involved in your community," Coyle said.The American Bar Association also said Hispanic lawyers are more likely to work for a government office.In 2018, Coyle was elected as a district judge. She said her time spent at the DA's office set her up to serve in this role."So, I'm very honored to get to serve my community. I love Oklahoma City. I love my community," Coyle said.That love for her community and desire to serve has always been part of her life, and it all goes back to the love and support of her family."I think it's so important to be involved and engaged in the community, and I think that foundation was from my family," Coyle said.She had the support she needed. Now in her position, Coyle believes in the importance of encouraging other young women to fight for their dreams. "Any woman or any minority woman, I think that if you really want to do something in life, you just have to try," she said. "There are so many resources in our community. And there can be that support when you may not think you have that support, it's out there."If someone doesn't succeed the first time, it's OK, she said."You're going to have obstacles," Coyle said. "I had obstacles along the way in my career. There were times where maybe I didn't achieve a goal I wanted to achieve, but it just made me stronger."As we look to Oklahoma City's future, Coyle hopes to see more Hispanics in leadership positions and shared a message."Keep being involved. Your voice matters. And I would say stay connected," Coyle said.