Rifle Junior Joins Colorado’s Gifted & Talented Student Board, Bringing Western Slope Voice to Statewide Advocacy

When Rifle High School junior Kincaid Perdue opened his email one October evening, he expected the usual stream of class reminders. Instead, he found a message that would change the trajectory of his high school career.

“It said, ‘Congratulations, you’re on the board.’ I just sat there in my car thinking, ‘Oh my gosh’,” he said, laughing as he remembered the moment. He had been waiting for a friend at Sonic after a game when instinct told him to check his inbox.

The message came from senior Yuki Chen, executive chair of the Colorado Gifted and Talented Student Board (CGTSB), a state-recognized, student-run advisory board that advocates for gifted learners.

More than 110 applications were received this year, and the board accepted about 28 percent of the applicants. This year, 38 students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, representing diverse identities, communities, and perspectives across the state, comprise the student-led board, including one from Rifle, Colorado.

The Colorado Gifted and Talented Student Board is entirely student-run - no adult advisors, no district-level supervisors, no state-appointed overseers. Their mission is to elevate the lived experiences of gifted learners and provide policymakers, educators, and statewide organizations with insight directly from students.

Executive Chair Yuki Chen, a senior at Thompson School District, summarized their focus.

“We bring awareness to issues GT students face, misconceptions, barriers, and the policies that shape their experience.”

Board members consult on legislation, recommend changes in practice, present at statewide conferences like the Colorado Association of School Boards and the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented, build local GT leadership efforts in their own districts, and work to correct misconceptions and inequities that GT students commonly experience.

It is rigorous, meaningful work, all organized through weekly meetings that the board runs itself.

“We operate on passion and caffeine,” Chen joked. “But really, we do this because we love serving GT students.”

‘He Just Gave Us a Unique First Impression.’

When asked why Kincaid stood out, the executive team responded immediately.

“He just had this natural humor and energy,” Chen said. “He made us smile during a stressful interview and showed really authentic communication skills.”

They weren’t just impressed, they were excited.

“What makes our board special is found in Kincaid,” said Executive Board member Adam Bellomo. “Not only does he understand what it’s like to be a GT student, but he can communicate it with clarity, warmth, and authenticity.”

The GT Journey for Kincaid

Kincaid doesn’t pretend that his GT journey was straightforward or perfect. He sees the gaps and wants to fix them.

One of the major initiatives the Student Board is pushing this year is legislation to improve how gifted students are identified, supported, and funded. The board presented at CASB this December and hopes to share their presentation at the Colorado Capitol.

The group is examining barriers that prevent many students from entering GT programs, barriers that Kincaid has both been a part of and witnessed in others.

“It’s not fair,” Kincaid said. “Some kids get overlooked because they’re bored, or they’re not perfect rule followers, but that might be the very reason they’re gifted.”

He tells the story of a relative who was often in trouble in elementary school simply because she finished her work faster than her peers. Many kids like her, bright, curious, restless, never get identified at all.

Kincaid wants to change that.

“If we could help the next generation set themselves up for the brightest future possible, I want to play that role,” he said. “It’s one of the saddest things when someone has so much potential, and it is never realized. If I can help prevent that, I will.”

That is not the thought process of a typical 17-year-old. But it is exactly why he was nominated.

Kincaid learned about the CGTSB opportunity because Rifle High School Academic Coach and GT Coordinator Larisa Gray stopped him as he walked into school one morning.

“She said, ‘Kincaid, I have this great opportunity for you.’ I never would’ve heard about this without her,” he said. 

Gray said Kincaid is the perfect representative for the GT Board.

“He is so willing to share his feelings and who he is as a person in every single moment,” she explained. “That’s exactly what I feel like the board needs because he can stand in front of people, including legislators, and eloquently share his personal experience and bring his story of what it means to be a GT kid. So who better to actually make things happen?”

As the GT coordinator at Rifle High School, Gray knows the struggles that some students go through - struggles that she knows Kincaid can advocate to change. One of the biggest challenges she sees in GT students' experiences is that teachers tend to already see them as “smart”. 

“Instead of actually making sure that all GT kids see that productive struggle that every kid needs to learn to become a lifelong learner, they can get pushed to the side, and a lot of them end up becoming silent and very quiet in classrooms. What I love about Kincaid is that he is so willing to share himself, so that you can see the person who deserves an education, and not just what will meet the norm for the rest of the class. Kincaid is very willing to share when things are tough and hard and what his needs are.”

Relationships first

When Kincaid talks about his future, he isn’t focused on résumé building. He’s focused on people. His long-term goal is to become a radiology oncologist, driven by years of watching family members battle cancer.

“I’ve seen so many tears, so much hardship. No family should have to go through that,” he said. “If I can ease that pain, for patients and their families, that’s what I want to do.”

It’s the same empathetic lens he brings to gifted education, an insistence that potential should be nurtured, not overlooked.

Kincaid’s appointment provides a meaningful Western Slope voice to a vocal, student-led organization that advocates for better systems to support all students.

“I just hope I can make as big a splash as possible while I’m there,” he said. “If I get to help even a few kids, that’s worth everything.”

For now, Rifle High School has a student stepping onto a statewide stage, presenting at CASB, preparing legislation, and raising his voice for students who may not always feel seen.