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At CU Boulder’s recognition ceremony for graduating civil, environmental and architectural engineering students on May 8, speaker Marco Campos (CivEngr’98) surprised the crowd by offering to pay off a graduating senior’s remaining student debt. The unexpected act of generosity turned the celebration into an unforgettable afternoon.��

Dr. Karl Linden, department chair, civil, environmental, and architectural engineering, and alumnus Marco Campos (CivEngr’98), take a selfie with graduating students.

The announcement came toward the end of his speech, when Campos, a CU Boulder alumnus and founder of , paused to ask graduating students a series of questions: Who among them were the first in their families to attend college? Who had received a Pell Grant? And finally, who still carried student debt?

One by one, students sat down until only one, Travis Starling (CivEngr’25), remained standing.

Without hesitation, Campos pledged on the spot to pay off Starling’s remaining debt. The crowd cheered as Campos snapped a celebratory selfie with the audience, capturing a moment that embodied the spirit of the day — hope, generosity and community.

“I felt like I had a lottery ticket and the numbers lined up — it didn’t make any sense!” laughed Starling, a U.S. Army veteran and civil engineering graduate who also earned a minor in business this spring. “It wasn’t until I sat back down and started thinking about what he was offering and how significant it was that it started to set in.”

From rural roots to an engineering future

Starling grew up in rural South Carolina, raised by a single mom along with his two other siblings. After graduating from high school — one of the first to do so in a family who often had to leave school early to pursue work in difficult industries — he knew he wanted to follow through on his dream and seek an engineering degree.��

Marco Campos and Travis Starling after ceremony.

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“My grandfather always told me, ‘Get a job where you get paid for what you think and not what you do,’” he said. “As a kid, I always knew that civil engineering was the route I wanted to take, but I never knew how to get there.”

He eventually decided to take the leap. He enlisted with the Army, completing a stint with the National Guard followed by full-time active military duty. After completing his service, Starling used his GI Bill benefits to enroll at CU Boulder. Then, an unexpected health issue during his sophomore year set him back, and he had to take out loans to keep working toward his degree.

Now, with Campos’ surprise loan payoff, Starling said his future success is closer than ever. This summer, as he settles into post-grad life in Denver, he’ll also be volunteering with the Campos Foundation, supporting students with life experiences similar to his own.

“Now I can start to get into a condo sooner, start building equity — and start doing all the things my family could never do,” he said.

Paying it forward

In his remarks at the graduation ceremony, Campos — a first-generation college student himself — spoke about his own humble beginnings on the west side of Denver.

Marco Campos prepares to speak before the class of 2025.

His first experience at CU Boulder included a bridge program that introduced him to friends, professors and other resources he could lean on as he began his engineering education. This support turned out to be essential as he navigated the unfamiliar landscape of higher education.

Years later, after graduating and working in the industry for a number of years, he decided to start his own company. Working from his basement, he eventually built Campos EPC into a successful engineering firm with global reach and impact.

“I was a first-generation engineering student who received a Pell Grant for the duration of my studies at CU,” Campos said. “It’s a tremendous challenge getting a degree under financial stress, much less an engineering degree at a top institution.

“It’s my duty to pay it forward and help (students like Travis) graduate debt-free.”

In his speech, Campos urged students to move through the world without fear, reminding them of the training they’d received at CU Boulder and the support networks they can lean on.

His announcement at the engineering ceremony aligned with Campos’ broader mission through the , which supports educational and workforce development initiatives.

As CU Boulder’s newest engineering graduates head into the future, Campos’ unexpected generosity offered a powerful reminder: Success isn’t just about what you achieve, but how you lift others along the way.