Winds of Change - Fall 2017 - 21

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 PinetopLakeside, 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."
- Kevin McPherson

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FALL 2017 * WINDS OF CHANGE 21
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Winds of Change - Fall 2017

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