My Story

Caleb’s curiosity expressed itself visually at an early age. There are many photos of him at four and five years old drawing detailed computer systems on bathroom and shower walls using washable crayons. Even at that age, his drawings were structured and technical rather than abstract.

On a family trip to Duluth, Minnesota, when he was four years old, he was photographed opening the cover of a light post and examining the wiring inside. He consistently looked beyond surfaces to understand how things were built and connected.

Caleb developed a strong memory early in life and retained fine details about the systems and objects he encountered. He frequently thought about how things worked, why they were designed a certain way, and how they could potentially be improved.

Even in social settings, this structured thinking appeared. At a church white elephant exchange, he strategically traded gifts until he acquired a large box television, which ultimately had to be removed due to its size.

Family visits to Osceola Water Tower Park in Osceola, Wisconsin became informal learning opportunities. While others enjoyed the scenery, Caleb focused on the water tower and nearby cellular communication equipment.

On the first day he spent time with his now fiancée, he brought her to that park and explained how the systems worked. For Caleb, sharing interest often meant sharing infrastructure and process.

By middle school, Caleb had developed practical electrical skills. He spent time learning residential wiring, system diagnostics, and applied electronics through independent study and hands-on experimentation.

In late middle school and early high school, a friend approximately fifteen years older than Caleb gave him an old 3-D printer. Over the next two years, they frequently discussed software projects and programming concepts. The experience reinforced Caleb’s interest in software-hardware integration.

Around ninth grade, Caleb was introduced to microcontrollers through a CAD program. He built a garage door controller before his parents owned a smart garage opener. Later, he soldered a relay directly onto a circuit board to bypass a failing commercial communication layer and restore operation.

A friend Caleb had known since kindergarten regularly approached him with technical questions. One Christmas Eve during high school, the friend stepped away from dinner to ask him about Bluetooth and electrical concepts.

High school marked a particularly productive period. Caleb designed and built a solar-powered automatic watering garden system intended to operate fully off-grid. He also designed and built a preamp and a Class A amplifier.

During high school, Caleb and a close friend who is a head mechanic rebuilt a 1972 Wheelhorse C120 and modified the gearing so it could reach approximately 25 miles per hour.

Caleb’s parents’ garage became his workspace. He kept salvaged components from Apple computers, appliances, and controllers, developing an appreciation for the connection between technical depth and strategic thinking.

• Early fascination with infrastructure and wiring
• Visual systems thinking through drawings and modeling
• Independent experimentation with electronics and microcontrollers
• Interest in both engineering and financial systems

From drawing computer systems at age four to building microcontroller systems in high school, Caleb’s interests have consistently centered on understanding how systems function and how they can be improved.