Jan. 8, 2015
Denver - Former University of Denver Willy Schaeffler Scholarship recipient Nicholas Catanzarite has been appointed as a Grand County Court judge in the 14th Judicial District. Colorado Lt. Governor Joe Garcia made the announcement.
“Since I’ve been practicing law I’ve thought about becoming a judge,” Catanzarite said. “I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity but I put in my application and here I am.”
The appointment was signed by Garcia on behalf of Governor John Hickenlooper. It becomes effective on January 13th. Grand County voters decided not to retain Judge Ben McClelland which created the vacancy.
Catanzarite, a native of Mishawaka, Indiana, earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and eventually earned his Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in International Development from the University of Denver in 2011.
In 2007, Catanzarite earned the Schaeffler Scholarship for disabled scholar athletes.
“That was my opportunity to go to law school,” Catanzarite said. “That probably wouldn’t have happened without that scholarship.”
Catanzarite, now 37, was paralyzed when he was 17 while ski racing in Winter Park, Colorado on January 15, 1995. He could have abandoned the sport entirely but his family wouldn’t let him.
“We always skied together as a family and they wouldn’t let me quit,” Catanzarite explained. “They forced me and the hardest thing was to get back on the hill and learn to ski sitting down. It was tough but it was the best thing to get back out there.”
He was successful in his return to the slopes and became a member of the U.S Paralympic Alpine Ski Team. Catanzarite competed in three winter Paralympics; 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2006 in Torino, Italy and 2010 in Vancouver. He was an athlete services coordinator at the Sochi games in Russia last year.
It’s that tenacity as an athlete that Catanzarite feels will help him in his new position as a judge.
“There is going to be a steep learning curve but my history as an athlete prepares me for those challenges,” Catanzarite explained. “I think I bring intangibles to the table, such as my patience, ability to keep an open mind, treating people with respect, fair-mindedness and to treat everybody fairly and let them know they are being heard.”
Current head coach of the University of Denver ski team, Andy LeRoy, is one of Catanzarite's many admirers.
"He's an incredible representative of the sport and the University of Denver," said LeRoy. "He's an impressive individual and he'll be an outstanding judge."
Catanzarite, an attorney at the law firm of Peters Mair Wilcox in Winter Park, Colorado, was married three months ago to Sarah Schmidt, who works at DU in the Office of Internationalization.
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