STUDENTS

FROM PAGE 20 so began the quest to sift through the features and shortcomings of the agency’s rapidly deteriorating collection and build a better bear trap — preferably one that could be adapted to any situation.

Matt Soper, a Delta Republican. e bill initially raised eyebrows among some state leaders.

If possible, it would be produced in-house, a more economical option than buying from a vendor, which could run $25,000 per trap.

Belveal has been working on the project in ts and starts over the last two years, and so far has completed four of the six planned for his home Area 14, a swath of the state reaching from Teller County, through Colorado Springs and clear to the Kansas state line. At a cost of about $5,000 in materials plus his time on the clock, the nished traps have saved the agency an estimated $80,000.

And though the rst tests of the traps still lie ahead, CPW has been so thrilled with Belveal’s ingenuity, persistence and attention to detail that the agency recently named him its outstanding technician of the year. But his can-do legacy was forged well before he reshaped a critical tool for dealing with problem bears.

Walking across his property at the edge of the Flagler State Recreation Area, Belveal extends a friendly, down-home demeanor and a vise-like handshake that o ers no hint of the physical trials of his childhood.

Born seven weeks premature at 3 pounds, 7 ounces, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy that triggered symptoms known as hemiplegia, muscle atrophy that weakened the entire right side of his body. With a right leg an inch shorter than his left, he walked with a limp and, into his middle school years, slept in a brace to stretch his tendons.

“My dad and mom never made excuses for me because of my disability,” Belveal says. “I was never a victim, always encouraged and told I could do anything any other man could do.”

Belveal’s parents divorced when he was 10, and he initially lived with his mom in Karval and later Brush. At 15, he moved in with his dad, who moved

Colorado Department of Higher Education Executive Director Angie Paccione said in February that she didn’t want to see schools become predominantly out-of-state student serving.

But a department spokeswoman said Paccione now believes CU Boul- to Colorado Springs so Belveal could attend a small Christian high school. ere, he spent his freshman year lifting weights to aid his rehabilitation. e following year he took up wrestling. e drive that powered him to persevere didn’t stop with his prep wrestling career, and he has often leaned into its lessons. “I use and bene t from the mental toughness that sport requires on a daily basis,” he says. “You know how to dig deep. If I have a hard project or physically demanding task, I go back to my wrestling experience.

In his rst year of competition, he spent virtually every match pinned to the mat. When he nally broke through with a victory his junior year, he built on that success with a work ethic and irrepressible attitude that earned him the admiration of his coach and teammates — and a winning record. A late-season injury left him with broken ribs and then pneumonia, and the physical toll simply wore him out and left him just short of earning a trip to the 2006 state tournament.

“It’s the same attitude when you’re ghting a guy and you’re on your back. Just never give up. You gotta just keep trying until something works. I apply that subconsciously to everything I do.” e way he gured it, the job essentially amounted to farming and ranching for the government, a means to spend a career immersed in the work and lifestyle he loved. From that moment, he adopted a single-minded focus: One day, he would land a job with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. e most direct route might have been to pursue a college degree, but Belveal, though a more than respectable student, didn’t gure he was der has demonstrated that all eligible in-state students are accepted at the school — and that accepting eligible resident students is a priority. Paccione no longer has concerns about the legislation. e bill will also require schools to report how many out-of-state and in-state students schools enroll before the double count occurs, how schools use revenue for the purpose of aid, and where students that qualify for aid come from in the state.

His other passion — the outdoors — led him to volunteer for work building trails and helping with other conservation projects. One experience in particular left a lasting impression: a stint shadowing a CPW wildlife technician.

Colorado needs more homegrown talent from its universities, especially because that state has large gaps when it comes to who gets a degree, said Katie Zaback of Colorado Succeeds, which brings together business leaders to advocate for education.

Zaback, the organization’s vice cut out for that. He noticed that the agency’s job requirements o ered him a loophole — a college degree or relevant work experience.

“I chose what was most natural to me, which was working, and I went for the relevant experience route,” he says. “And everything I did for those years leading up to getting a full-time job was focused on getting experience that would translate to my hireability with Parks and Wildlife.”

Belveal volunteered almost daily with CPW for years, intent on impressing the agency with his work ethic. He started down a professional path by taking a job with El Paso County Parks. Still, he felt he also needed to establish some trade skills to bolster his résumé. When his dad opened his own steel fabrication shop, Belveal worked for him full time from 2009-12 to get his certi cation as a structural steel welder. He melded that experience with his continued CPW volunteer work. After six or seven tries — and rejections, at a time when an open CPW position drew hundreds of applicants — he gures his perseverance eventually just overwhelmed the agency.

“I got to know the HR gals and you know, they were rooting for me because I tried so many times it was kind of embarrassing,” Belveal says. “But every time I applied I learned something and would come back, you know, a little better the next time.” is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media. president of policy, said a priority for Colorado Succeeds is to examine what solutions there are to get more Colorado students access to a highquality education, such as at CU Boulder.

In 2012, he nally got full time CPW work as a resource technician at Lake Pueblo State Park. Five years later, he landed his dream job, transferring to the Eastern Plains to live and work as a wildlife technician on a state-owned property just east of Flagler. e bear trap project has cemented his credentials.

CU Boulder enrolls a group of students that aren’t representative of the state’s high school graduates, she said. And she worries the bill, if it’s enacted, would send a message that Colorado’s best and brightest can only be educated if the state recruits more out-of-state students.

“I wonder if that’s true,” Zaback said. “I wonder what the overall equity implications are.” is story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters

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