Carlson Begay’s quiet confidence is probably his most prominent character trait. “I may be shy, but I think that my shyness has helped me. I’ve met just the right number of people, and I’m glad I met some people and didn’t meet others,” he says when asked about which qualities have contributed to his success. It’s clear that Begay sees a rich world around him interconnected with the people who support his achievements.
Begay, Navajo and White Mountain Apache, spent his childhood on the Fort Apache Reservation in Whiteriver, Ariz. He speaks fondly of where he grew up, noting that with its forests, lakes, and nearby ski resorts, the land is a destination for people who love to be outdoors. For Begay, a key characteristic of where he grew up is the water and his tribe’s role in its management. “It’s still one of the only tribes that controls our own water rights,” he says. Water, especially its accessibility and quality, drives Begay’s future plans.
From the time Begay was a young child, his parents were instrumental in instilling the qualities that have shaped his character. His mother is a program director in the reservation’s Environmental Protection Office (EPO). “Everyone in the office knows me,” says Begay. “I’ve been spending time there since I was in diapers.” Both his mother’s passion and his early exposure to the EPO’s inner workings seeded his interest in water quality and water rights. Now, Begay aspires to major in environmental sciences and civil engineering.
But the path to college has not been easy. “My biggest obstacle was myself,” he says. “I was lazy about my grades early on.” But it was Begay’s love of learning, his determination, and lessons from his father that helped amp up his drive to do his best.
Begay has always been a builder — and not just of his future. The construction site of his family’s current house turned out to be a teaching ground for some important lessons from his father. Early in Begay’s life, his father fell ill and was put on medical leave
Water, especially its accessibility and quality, drives Begay’s future plans.
by the company he worked for. Still, Begay’s father wanted better living conditions for his family and decided he would use some disability pay to build a house, moving the family out of their previous mobile home. Begay became his father’s right-hand man on the project, and learned both humility and perseverance from the tasks he was given.
“I remember one day, my dad and I were laying the foundation — smoothing out concrete — and he would lay the concrete and it would come out uneven, but then I would lay the concrete and it would come out smooth,” Begay says. “That’s when my dad said that a father always wants his son to do better than he did.”
Not all the lessons came from experiences on the construction site. “My dad was busy with the house and his medical issues, but that didn’t keep him and my mom from teaching us important stuff,” Begay says about what he and his five younger sisters have learned. “We learned to always be humble. We learned to be thorough — to clean the floors with a toothbrush, then a rag, and finally the mop.” Begay certainly picked up a keen idea of what it means to make progress, and often — when his parents had to work away from home — tasks were put on him. He knew completing them was a responsibility to his family.
With all the knowledge and values his mother and father have given him, Begay knew he would graduate from high school and go on to college. And what he learned about perseverance is evident today. Although he didn’t get into his top choice, Northern Arizona University, on his first try, he is poised to make an impact in the next application cycle by building on specific training he started his freshman and sophomore years of high school. “My mom had set up a two-week internship for me in the Hydrology Office. It was short, but at the end of it I knew I wanted to work with protecting our water,” he says.
After graduating from Blue Ridge High School in Pinetop Lakeside, Begay is now enrolled in the Water Resources Technician Training Program at the University of Arizona. At the end of his program, he hopes to apply to Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., before transferring to Northern Arizona University. This is an integral step to “learning the white man’s world,” as his grandpa would say, so that one day he can advise his community if he is called upon to be part of his tribe’s governing body. That would not be surprising, as Begay kept busy last summer as a District 3 representative for the tribe’s Youth Council.
In addition to a lifetime of experiences and lessons, Begay’s future has been shaped by a meaningful inner dialogue. He often reflects on what he would tell his sisters when they want to follow their own path to success: “Pray and know God,” he says. “Love your family, pursue education — whether in school or not — and always ask questions.”
