Covel grew up in Edgemont, South Dakota[citation needed]and attended college at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, majoring in Broadcast Management with a minor in acting.

Covel then took a position as a headhunter in San Francisco, and eventually opened his own firm before ultimately turning his attention back to film making.

Within a three-year period, the program grew to provide over 12,000 meals to over 1000 food-insecure families with elementary school aged children.

[11] In 2019, Covel partnered with illustrator Rebecca Swift to launch a 64-book series for kids, in which the title character is called Porter the Hoarder.

[12][13] The Porter the Hoarder series is now part of a charitable program with The United Way called Black Hills Reads.